On Angel's Wings AKA Angel Greyson's Journey
by siriusmoonlite
Summary: Angel Greyson, a fifth year student at Hogwarts discovers his relationship to both Slytherins and Gryffindors, eventually finding himself with an unexpected family obligation.
1. Prologue

**On Angel's Wings **

**Title:** Prologue, Angel's Backstory

**Disclamer:** The characters do not belong to me. They belong to JKR. I use them as I wish

**A/N** The start of this story centers around Angel, however Remus Lupin will become centralas thechapters progress.

Cassie felt cold through her bones as she sat on the metal bench outside the train depot, the train that would take them to the airport, to the plane, that plane that would take them away ……. forever.

She shivered, from sorrow or cold, she couldn't tell. Everything was blurring together and spinning around her head. She held her infant daughter closer and wrapped her young son in the blanket she had made for his birth, the blanket still soft with lanolin. As she stroked his straight dark hair and softly sang a song, her thoughts were turned to her past:

· to her childhood, her schooldays at Hogwarts  
· to her meeting Gordon at the world cup. She had fallen immediately for that young Australian, his red-blond hair, his blue-gray eyes and that smile.  
· to the two solid days at the cup when they walked away from the camp. Gordon playing the flute and she singing. He called her his "raven haired beauty" and teased her about her turned up nose with those three small freckles. They held each other close, wishing the match would never end  
· to the year of owls – until they were out of school; the year that seemed an eternity. The ring had arrived with the Christmas owl.  
. to her excitement when Gordon had showed up at her window at her parent's house and whisked her away on his broom, to be married and to live with him in Australia. No fuss about big ceremonies or formalities. All they needed was each other.  
· to building their home just outside Toowoomba, where they could sit beneath the stars. His family would not accept her. But they were happy and in love.  
· to the birth of their son "Angel".  
· to that morning when Gordon left, never to return... no word, no note. He had been gone once before, returning in two weeks, but this time it was different. It had been 6 months and he had not returned. "Oh Gordon, where are you?"  
· to the birth of their daughter "Claire". At her birth her dark curly ringlets already long enough to be tied in a ribbon.  
· to the jeers from others saying "looks like your man decided to go on a permanent walk about. He was just too good for the likes of you."

She was startled out of her reverie by the sound of the train arriving. Lifting her pack onto her back and a child in each arm, she boarded the train, her son holding her long black braid of hair tightly in his hand. Settling down in an empty compartment, she looked out the window, a tear running down her cheek, "Going Home" she sighed. But as she leaned back a voice seemed to whisper in her ear "or are you leaving home?"

With this she fell fast asleep.


	2. Chapter 1 Classes

Hogwart's Fifth Years

**Chapter 1: Classes **

Ouch! said Angel as he lay on the floor. He slowly sat up, rubbing the back of his head, looking around to see if his fall had been noticed. He had been tilting back in his chair, when the chair slipped out from under him and he ended up flat on the wood floor, hitting his head on the desk behind him on his way down.

Looking up, he spotted Ginny Weasley, who at first had looked concerned, but now had her fist in her mouth. She was trying as hard as she could to keep from laughing. He gave Ginny a wink and smiled. Turning his eyes towards the front of the room, he saw that Binns hadn't noticed a thing and was continuing to teach as if nothing had happened.

Angel slowly got to his feet again and, as he began to set his chair upright, a message flew across the classroom and landed on his desk. Angel sat down to look at the message. It was a piece of pink parchment folded to look like a bird. He wasn't so sure he wanted to see what was inside, but he picked it up, squinted his eyes and and slowly unfolded it. "Oh, No!" he whispered. In shiny gold letters were the words "A&S Eternally". And these were surrounded by two entwined hearts! Just below them was written:

_Angel hair so Black. __  
__And eyes so gray. __  
__With love from Steph __  
__On your 16th Birthday_.

Angel sighed with relief. At least it wasn't a singing card.

A girl giggled nearby and Angel looked up to see a blond curly haired girl staring at him;Stephanie, the card creator.

He started to reply, but before the first word left his lips, the air was full of messages, all flying towards him, all were happy 16th birthday cards.

He gathered all his cards from the floor and nearby desks and piled them in a stack on his desk. He picked up the small lime green card at the top of the stack and began opening it when the class was dismissed. He would have to open them later after classes were over for the day.

Angel quickly stuffed the cards into his robe pockets and hurried off to his next class, potions, Ginny at his side

Potions was Angel's least favorite class, outside of history of magic. Angel was convinced that he was an excellent potions brewer, even better than Snape. Potions had always come easy to him and he loved watching the bubbling liquid change color. But, he loathed the class, because he loathed Snape, and Snape loathed him. According to Ginny, Snape hated Angel almost as much as Snape hated Harry.

Ginny and Angel slowly walked down the stone steps towards potions, Angel dreading every step he took. When they finally arrived at the bottom, a voice called out, "Angel, Ginny, over here!" Looking around they saw a boy peering over the crowd of students. "Happy birthday Angel," said the boy, waving. Angel and Ginny walked up to a tall boy with straight white-blonde hair which came down past his shoulders. This was Liam, Angel's best friend.

Liam was not a Gryffindor; he was a Hufflepuff, but as Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs had potions at the same time this year, Angel and Liam were taking this class together.

Liam's blue eyes twinkled as he said with a wide grin, "Hey Angel, I heard you were sent to McGonagall again last night. I was crossing my fingers, hoping that she hadn't sent you packing this time."

"Honestly Angel," Ginny said with a very concerned look, "Promise me that you won't do any more 'Fred and George' stuff. O.K.?" But Angel just shrugged, smiled and gave her a wink and they walked into the classroom.

The potion for the day was the strengthening solution.

As Angel gathered the ingredients from the store cupboard and assembled them at his table, Ginny looked over her caldron and said, "Honestly Angel, what were you doing out of bed, and in the hallway outside the trophy room?"

Angel shrugged and said, "Must have been sleep walking. "

But he knew that was a lie. He still had told no one, not even Ginny, about the whisper he heard when all was quiet, a whisper that was there, but so quiet that he wondered if he heard anything at all. The whisper that , last night, beckoned him to that hallway. And he was not about to tell Ginny now.

Ginny peered into his eyes and said, "You're gonna stay in your dormitory tonight, Please! I would like to graduate WITH you."

"Miss Weasley!" came a voice from the front of the room. "If you and Mr.Greyson are through with your conversation, I will continue with my class!" "10 points from Gryffindor." Snape was staring down at them. Quickly, they directed their attention to brewing their strengthening solutions

Snape walked over to another student's caldron, Cameron Murray's caldron. Snape rarely criticized Cameron, who, even though a Hufflepuff, Snape seemed not to dislike as much as the rest of the class. He found nothing to complain about and the continued to walk thoughout the room.

After an hour, Angel's potion turned a glistening gold: he was finished. Looking around he could see that he was again finished before anyone else in the class, even before Ginny, who was a good potions brewer.

His eyes lit upon Snape, and to his delight, Snape was facing away from Angel, a few rows ahead and leaning down, criticizing the work of two other Gryffindors.

Angel knew he shouldn't…  
He tried not to…..  
But …..he was bored and he could not resist.

Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a spare bit of parchment and crumpled it up into a ball. He put his hand into his other robe pocket and pulled out his wand.

"Ascendium Verbosum," he said as he passed the wand over the ball.

The ball immediately floated up into the air and across the room, stopping directly behind Snape's head. As Snape moved around the room, looking down his nose at each bubbling potion in the caldrons, the ball of parchment followed him. And that was not all; words were coming from the parchment, words that followed the ball as it traveled. These words formed sentences, which hung in the air and, as they disappeared, were replaced by new words.

"Git!"... "wash you hair" ... "you call this a teacher?" ... and on and on, each message becoming more insulting.

There were sniggers throughout the class, but Ginny looked aghast. "Angel! Be careful!" Yet Angel had never been afraid of Snape, not even in his first year.

As Snape jerked his head around, Angel quickly removed the spell from the parchment and it fell to the floor. Snape let out a short breath, bent down and picked up the parchment. He held the ball in his hand, stared at it, and then peered at Angel.

Snape was tired of this. He would like nothing better than to have lashed out at Angel, putting him in his place, telling him things that would shut him up forever. But he had sworn to Dumbledore that, as he kept Harry's secrets, he would keep Angel's. Instead he just glared at Angel.

"Mr. Greyson, since you seem to have ample time to act like an imbecile, your potion must be ready. Bring it up for marking!"

Angel filled a flask with the potion and brought it up to the front. Snape tested the potion and then sneered at Angel. "Mr. Greyson, as we both know, you couldn't brew a proper potion if your caldron was self stirring and the ingredients self mixing. Who helped you with this?"

Looking across at Ginny he said "Miss Weasley! You know very well that students in my class are not allowed to give assistance to any other student. 20 points from Gryffindor. And if there is any other rule breaking by a Gryffindor in my class today, I will start passing out detentions. Take your seat, Mr. Greyson."

Angel spent the rest of the class longing to be outside on the school grounds; longing for freedom from this class and thinking that in three days winter break would be starting.


	3. Chapter 2 Francesca

**Chapter 2 Francesca **

The weather at Hogwarts had been warmer than usual this year. The grounds were still green and the sun was shining, but there was a wind from the north.

Ginny, Angel and Liam walked through the Hogwart's lawn towards their favorite tree. Even the cold wind on Angel's face felt wonderful. No more classes until tomorrow!

"Glad you thought better of what else you were wanting to do in potions," smiled Ginny. " Making the flames rise under Cameron's caldron so that the stuff would bubble over was not a good idea."

How did she know that was what he was thinking? It always seemed strange, but ever since he met Ginny in first year, she seemed to be able to read his mind and he could often guess what she was going to do next.

He stood gazing at Ginny when something came soaring through the air and hit him square in the middle of his forehead.

"ouch!" cried Angel, "What the..?"

He looked down and saw a red card. As Angel leaned down to pick up the card, he could hear Ginny giggling. "That will be from Luna," she said.

Sure enough, Luna was sitting a few yards away. She waved at him and then looking down, began reading again. Angel couldn't understand why the note had hurt so much when it hit his head. He opened the note and saw two Gryffindor lions with the letters XVI embossed in gold. And there was a charm inside. He decided to wait until later to ask Luna what the charm was for.

They settled themselves beneath the large beech tree, Liam and Ginny looking for pictures in the clouds, Angel opening all his other cards.

They had been at this for only a few minutes when Ginny looked up and said with a smile,  
"Francesca! I didn't expect to see you until after winter break."

"How's your mother, Franny?" said Liam

"She's seems better. Just glad Professor Dumbledore let me visit her for a bit. He says I can make up my classes in the evenings after winter break"

Francesca was a tall red haired girl with bright green eyes. She wore her hair straight and it reached half way down her back. She was in Gryffindor, in Ginny's dorm, but she was muggle born, and as far as Francesca knew, the only witch in her family.

"Guess what?" Francesca said as she took her place under the tree, "My great aunt Jessica came to take care of my mum while she is sick.…… Do you want to see a picture of Aunt Jessi?" she said as she took out parchment and pastels. Everyone watched as Francesca drew a woman with a dark, long braid, wearing a long patched bluejean skirt and paisley batwing blouse. She had pink painted toenails with a letter on each nail. The words "John Lives" was written across her toes. On the big toe between the words John and Lives, there was a butterfly. Everyone giggled.

"Do you think she's a wizard in muggle disguise?" chortled Angel.  
"Time Turner?" asked Liam.  
Everyone laughed.

"Yes, the rest of family won't talk to her. Think she's lost her marbles. They say she's not real family. Just married into it. But my mum loves her," said Francesca.

" You know, aunt Jessi's pretty cool, though. She is the one who made sure I came back to Hogwarts for these few days before winter break. Says I need to get out with my friends for awhile."

"She really began to get me, though. One evening she was downstairs, doing her macramé, she began talking to me about the "old days". You know, way back in the 60s and 70s. Old muggles seem to always be talking about the 60s and 70s."

Francesca finished the picture with a flourish, adding two stars on aunt Jessi's face, directly below her left eye. "Anyway, aunt Jessi tells me that teenagers today don't have proper social conscience. And she tells me about sit-ins and protests." Franchesca looked up and sighed, "talking about how when she was young they were fighting a battle against evil and tyranny."

Francesca shivered slightly, looked across the grounds and said in a sad voice, "It was all I could do to keep quiet…..Not to scream out WHAT DO YOU THINK WE ARE IN NOW? WE ARE IN THE BIGGEST WAR EVER?"

"But…, she's a muggle. I couldn't tell her."

Every student knew that, even if on the surface, everything seemed normal, nothing WAS normal this year..

"Did you learn any of those macramé knots?" asked Ginny with a smile, "dad would think they're great."

But Francesca was not listening. She was staring across the lawn at a boy sitting under a tree with a group of 6th years. Ginny got up and quickly walked over to the group to talk to Harry, Neville and Ron.

Liam, Angel and Francesca joined them. Looking up, Harry stopped in mid-sentence. "Happy Birthday Angel," said Harry. "Ye, Happy Birthday," said Ron and Neville in unison. "Hey, Harry, you know, it is very important when someone becomes 16," said Ron, "probably needs some kind of special ceremony!"

"Don't you dare!" said Ginny. Everyone smiled. Harry, Ron and Neville had just begun to tell everyone about the DADA class they had that day when Angel's stomach growled with hunger.

"This is all extremely interesting, " said Angel, "but food awaits." Everyone got up and walked towards the castle.

Noticing that Francesca had been very quiet and was walking more slowly than the rest, Ginny stayed back to talk to her. "You really like him, don't you?" said Ginny.

Francesca blushed, smiled and turned her head slightly. Yes, she had liked him for years. But she always became shy every time she was around him. He had even gone to the Yule Ball with Ginny two years before. Yes, Neville sure was cool.


	4. Chapter 3 The First Visit

**Chapter 3 ****  
****The first visit**

Finally! Thought Angel as Ron and Hermione left to go up to their dorms. Angel had been waiting hours for the common room to be empty. He was anxious to get started on his nightly walk through the castle. However, as he had been caught last night, he wouldn't be caught again. He plopped into the large comfy armchair, threw down his book and picked up the mirror from the end table.

He had a plan. He stared into the mirror looking intently at his sparkling gray eyes.

He screwed up his face, closed his eyes and gritted his teeth. When he looked back into the mirror, a freckle faced red-haired boy was looking back at him.  
He stuck out his tongue, crossed his eyes and started making faces at himself. "Not bad! Pretty good in fact. No one will ever recognize me. From a distance, I look like Ron Weasley."

This was only the second time Angel had transformed at school. Last time, Dumbledore had caught him and made him swear that he would not transform again while at the castle.

_Angel was born with curly red-blonde hair, but one day, when he was two, his mother leaned down to pick him up from his crib. She was surprised to find a baby with dark straight hair in the place of the curly haired little boy she had put to sleep the night before. She was not happy and, just like Dumbledore, made him promise not to let others know his secret. He was not to transform outside the house and especially not at school._

Once more, he looked at the boy with Red-hair, freckles, long pointed nose, slightly bucked teeth, and gray eyes.

"Time's movin' on." He thought. So, he threw down the mirror, clamored to his feet and hurried from the common room.

**The Trophy Room  
**  
Angel pushed against the door to the trophy room and it swung open. He put his wand into his robe and stepped inside. Inside rows and rows of crystal cases, were awards and trophies, gleaming in the torchlight. Angel slowly walked through the aisles, peering at each item. As Hogwarts was very old, there seemed to be no end. But, as Angel looked down the third row of cups, he noticed that, on the end of the row, was a large wooden door with a golden handle that reminded him of a snitch. Carved into the door was a large letter "H" surrounded by a circle of laurel leaves. The door was slightly ajar.

Angel walked quickly to the door and pulled. The door was so heavy, that it didn't move. He leaned back with all his weight and the door began to move slowly. Finally, when the door was open, Angel peered inside.

The room was pitch dark, as the light from the trophy room torches did not reach it.  
"Lumos," said Angel as he held his wand in front of him. The wandlight shone only a few feet into the room, so Angel could not be really sure what was in it. He stepped in and his face brushed against something. He quickly turned and pointed his wand. It was a scarlet quidditch robe.

"Lumos supment." The light from his wand intensified. Angel could now see most of the room. Looking up towards the ceiling, he saw several long wooden rods. They were floating parallel to each other. Quidditch robes were hung from them.

He then looked down. The wooden floor was very dusty and boxes were piled onto it. Then Angel shone his wand onto the quidditch robes. There were rows and rows of them; scarlet, yellow, blue and green. Angel allowed his hand to brush against the robes as he walked down each row. He stopped, his eyes resting on a magnificent scarlet cape.

Putting his wand on the closet floor, he slipped the cape from the hangar.

"Brendon McHenry. Gryffindor keeper," said a proud voice from the hangar.

"Cool," Angel thought as he began wrapping the cape over his shoulder…..

What was that? There was scuffling noise from outside the door. Mrs. Norris, Filch?

"Nox!" whispered Angel. And the wand light went out. Angel got to his knees and listened intently, thankful that the torch light from the trophy room did not shine into the closet. After a few minutes, hearing nothing else, he slipped the cape back on the hanger.

He walked to the trophy room door and peered into the hallway. All was clear.

"Lumos" And he headed quickly back to the common room.


	5. Chapter 4 The Second Visit

**Chapter 4 ****  
****The second visit**

Next night Angel again donned his "red-hair" look, having again heard that whisper that drew him. He had begun hearing this whisper last summer and had followed it for many nighttime adventures. The whisper began to tug harder in the last few weeks, intensifying each night. Now, he heard it constantly. He could no longer sleep thru the night, waking as it urged him to follow.

Each time he followed that whisper, he had found something interesting or found out something important. Earlier, he had caught wormtail inside the castle.

Tonight, the whisper had pulled so hard that he found himself at the door to the trophy room, not remembering how he got there. He slowly looked into the room, watching for any sign of Filch or Mrs. Norris. Last night had been a close call and he shuddered at the thought of coming face to face with Filch.

He quickly crossed to the closet and opened the door. There they were, those beautiful robes. And there was that wonderful scarlet cape with the gold tassel. He slung the cape over his shoulder and stepped back out of the closet to look at his reflection in a large trophy. Boy, did he look cool. He closed his eyes and imagined himself to be soaring over the quidditch pitch. Yes, he was a great quidditch player, the best of them all.

He opened his eyes, wanting to see himself in his robe again, but this time not only was he looking back out of the trophy, but there was someone else looking back; a very familiar somebody; a very familiar somebody with long red hair and freckles.

"Ginny! What are you…?"

There stood Ginny, arms crossed and toe tapping. "Angel!"

"How did you know it was me?"

"Hmph! Never you mind…… What In the World!

Angel winked at her. "Just out for a walk. Kind of cramped in the dorms." Walking back towards the robes he said, "Hey Gin, look at these. Aren't they cool?"

Now Ginny had accompanied Angel on several nighttime quests in the past, but they were now in fifth year. And as Ginny thought they were getting too old for these adventures, they had not gone out since end of last year.

Ginny looked toward the ceiling and shook her head. She had every intention of making him return to the common room, but she really didn't feel like returning either. She really felt like spending time alone with her Angel. And, as Dobby was busy cleaning the common room, there was no privacy there.

When she looked back at him she was smiling. "Well, since we're here, we might as well take a look around," she said. "Who do you think this one belonged to?" And taking a robe from the closet, she put it around her shoulders.

"Aden Black, Slytherin seeker," said a proud voice from the hangar.

A shiver went down Angel's back. Another Black, and a stinking Slytherin. He knew that there had once been many branches of the Black family.

"Ginny, that's a Slytherin robe."

"Yes, but it is such a nice green. It's my color, don't you think."

"Quit teasing. Take that thing off."

But Ginny just made a face at him, and sat down, cross legged, her wand lit on the closet floor in front of her. She began pulling boxes out. Knowing he had lost the "argument", Angel screwed up his face and was once again the handsome, black haired boy.

He wanted to look into the boxes that were at the very back of the closet. He got down on his knees, and stretched to reach them. "Gin, you were following me last night, weren't you?"

"Um, maybe…….." Her thoughts drifted off. She wondered about the Blacks. Were there other Blacks still around? She had never heard of any. But there probably were other Black women who married into other families; just like Mrs. Tonks, Mrs. Malfoy and Mrs. LeStrange. Ginny had always liked Sirius and had often wished that he would have gotten married and had a son. She thought she would really have liked that son. A tear leaked from her eye and she felt a pain in her chest as she thought about Sirius. She had not known him long, but she missed him.

She pried open the lid on a long, flat box. "OOOOH look, pennants!"

Angel turned around to look, but instead of seeing the pennants, his eyes rested on Ginny. The wand light was shining in her brown eyes and dancing in her red hair. He continued to look at her as he crawled across the floor towards her, sliding a box as he went.

Still looking at Ginny, Angel began opening the box. He slid his finger under the top flap and felt a prickle of pain. "damn!" His finger was bleeding.

Ginny quickly grabbed his hand. "Let me take a look."

"Ginny, it's only a paper cut." Angel tried to move his hand away.

"Don't be ridiculous. Let me take a look!" Ginny took Angel's hand in hers and examined it. She picked up her wand and waved it over the wound. A scab immediately appeared. The cut was closed. But now the only light in the closet was coming from Angel's wand.

"There," said Ginny, her hand still holding his.

Angel's palm was beginning to sweat. He leaned forward and ran his hand through her hair. Ginny smiled. Angel moved beside Ginny, and put his arm around her shoulder. Turning toward her, he kissed her forehead, moved his lips down her nose and he kissed her. And, she was kissing him back. She ran her fingers through that long black hair and as she looked into his eyes, she thought she had never seen eyes that beautiful before. They were like endless pools that pulled her inside. But, she couldn't remember much of anything right now. She vaguely thought she should be surprised at this turn of events, but she could not remember how to be surprised. It seemed to her that she and Angel had been there for only a minute, and then maybe an hour. She just wanted to stay here with Angel forever.

Then, Ginny heard voice in her head that sounded like her mother. She jerked herself away from Angel and said, "Angel, we need to get going. We want to get back before dawn." Angel just stared.

"Lumos," she said, crawling away. She crawled to the back of the closet, her wand illuminating the back well. "It's not nearly dawn," said Angel as he began gathering boxes to hand to her.

As Ginny's wand lit the back wall, she noticed the wall had something etched into it. But, when she moved closer, the etching seemed to disappear. Where did it go? She moved so close that her nose nearly touched the wall. Then she moved her wand slowly back and forth. There it was again.

"Aparecium."

"Lumos."

There appeared, in red ink, a triangle with a number eight inside it. The eight was lying on its side. Ginny remembered her mother talking about this symbol. It was the symbol for a "forever box". Now, her mother often told her stories about the old days, when she was at Hogwarts; of how girls would create "forever boxes". Into these boxes, they put items that were important to them. They would hide these boxes in the castle and magically seal them. Hopefully, many years later, the boxes would be found and opened. It was like a secret treasure chest. There were "forever boxes" hidden throughout the castle.

Here was Ginny, looking at the "forever box" symbol. She knew the symbol would have only made itself visible to a girl….a girl who was from the house of the person who created the box. This meant that it belonged to a Gryffindor.

Angel came up beside her. "Angel, hold your wand here while I try to open this." Angel knelt next to her, his wand lighting the back wall.

It took Ginny only two tries, but as she completed the second spell, a portion of the wall just melted away. Ginny reached into the opening and pulled out a box. It was wrapped in gold cloth, tied together with a cord made out of three scarlet ribbons, braided together. As she moved away from the wall, the opening disappeared and the wall was whole again.

Angel put his arm around her and asked, "Gin, what is that?"

Ginny gently removed his arm and stood up, "I'll tell you in the common room. Let's get back there as soon as we can. Don't want to get THIS taken away."

"Gin, don't forget to take that robe off."

Giggling, Ginny hung up the robe and hurried down the hall.

Angel hung up his robe and walked to the door. The whisper was trying to pull him back into the trophy room. But, the thought of Ginny was also pulling him. "Forget you!" he yelled into the room. He could always come back some other time. And turning, he followed in Ginny's footsteps, running towards the common room.

As he followed her, he thought about that kiss. Ginny had always wanted to be closer than a friend, but he never had. The kiss was wonderful, the closest he had ever been to Gin. And he wanted to get even closer. But where were the sparks?


	6. Chapter 5A The Forever Box

**Chapter 5.1 ****  
****The Forever Box**

"But what is a forever box?"

Angel followed Ginny across the threshold into the common room. The room was empty and the fire in the grate had burned out so that only a few glowing embers remained. The sconces along the walls gave off a faint light, leaving the room in virtual twilight. Angel walked quickly and sat in 'his' chair, Ginny settling herself next to him on the arm, the large box in her lap.

"It's a kind of memory holder. No, it's not like a pensieve."  
" But memories are held in this box; memories of a Hogwart's girl. These are things she has owned, secrets that she kept, things that were dear to her. Possibly a pressed flower from a dance or a valentine from a beau."

"The box was magically sealed and hidden. There was a kind of excitement, putting your memories into a box that will be one day later opened by another. As they could not easily hide the box in the girl's dorm or the Gryffindor common other hiding places were found."

Wanting to see the box better, but not wanting to wake anyone or make others aware of their presence, Ginny lit the candle on the end table. The gold fabric covering the box shimmered in the candlelight and shadows were cast across Angels' robe and face as Ginny untied the ribbon. With one final tug, the ribbon separated and the material fell away, revealing a mahogany box with a Gryffindor Crest carving. Ginny slid her fingers under the lid and opened it.

Inside were two smaller rectangular boxes with initials carved into the top; One box had the initials CB and the other LE. Removing these boxes, she noticed a piece of parchment, the parchment sealed in red wax.

Ginny picked up the parchment and handed it to Angel. She moved closer to him, sitting in his lap with her head on his shoulder. She could read silently as he read aloud.

Angel smiled, put his arm around her and then broke the seal and unfolded the parchment.

"_These are the cherished possessions of Lily Evans and Cassiopeia Briarford, friends forever_."

Ginny gasped and looked over at Angel, who stared blankly at the parchment. But inside his heart was racing. His mother's foreverbox. His mother's thoughts, her memories, her secrets……….

_Angel knew next to nothing about his mother, about her childhood, about her family or about his. She never discussed these things and whenever Angel asked she quickly changed the subject. He knew he had grandparents in Australia, but he had never seen them. He also suspected that he should have some relations in the British wizarding community. He had never met them either. He had grown up knowing only his mother and sister. He knew nothing about his family._

"Angel," said Ginny quietly. She smiled and looked into his eyes as if to say, "It is alright." Gently laying the box in his hands, she ran her fingers along his, snuggling in closer. Angel began to open the lid but stopped. Ginny put her hand on his and whispered, "Let's see what it is, OK?" And they opened the box together.

Ginny began removing items one by one, as the box was full.

She pulled out  
- what looked like love letters tied together with a ribbon,  
- a book of poetry with dried rose petals pressed in the leaves  
- a world cup program

Next, she found several photos and began removing them from the box, one by one, while Angel looked on.

The first photo was of Cassie and Gordon at the word cup, similar to the one that Cassie displayed on the desk in her bedroom.

The second picture was of James. He was wearing his red Gryffindor quidditch robes and ruffling his hair. Ginny turned the picture over to read "_James Potter, too bad Lily got him_."

The third picture showed Lupin sitting beside the lake, shoes and socks off, feet in the water. He was smiling and waving. The back of the picture said, "_Remus Lupin, my first crush_."

Next came a picture of Peter, sitting beneath a tree, smiling and waving, then blowing huge bubblegum bubbles. The inscription read, "_Peter Pettigrew, a really sweet guy_."

Again putting her hand into the box, she pulled out a picture of Sirius. He was sitting on his motorbike. He smiled and winked as to say "come on aboard. Let's ride." Turning the photo over Ginny read, "_Sirius Black. My sweet impetuous best guy friend_."

The final picture was of Lily and Cassie, arm in arm, giggling.

Angel knew his mum went to Hogwarts, but had never thought about her friends there. She was friends with Harry's mum and dad, and with Sirius Black. And with Angel's favorite teacher ever, Professor Lupin.

Once more, Ginny reached into the box and took out the last item. It was a piece of parchment rolled up in a smaller note. She unrolled the parchment and read the note:

"_This scroll contains the most wonderful secret that I have. Only a few people know it; even those to whom it is important. I have promised not to tell anyone else. However, I did not promise not to put it in this box. I never knew about my family, but now I do. Written upon this scroll is my family tree._"

"Angel, I will unroll the parchment unless you don't want me to. Do you want me to?" Angel shook his head.

The first thing they saw as she slowly opened the parchment was Angel's mother's name. It was at the bottom; a line going up from her to a woman name Rose Clearwater. So his grandmother's name was Rose. There was no line from Rose to her parents. However, paired with Rose was …….Angel's jaw dropped and Ginny tightened her hand so that she accidentally crumpled the paper a bit.

Paired with Rose was Sirius' father.

Ginny put her arms around Angel and hugged him as tightly as she could. She could feel his confusion and shock, but when she looked into his grey eyes, she saw anger. "Angel, " she said softly as she kissed him. She laid her head on his chest. Angel put his arms around her. They sat in this silent embrace, Angel stroking Ginny's hair, a kind of contented comfort.

After a while Ginny broke the silence, "I can't believe it. You're a Black and you're Sirius' nephew." She couldn't believe that, with all the similarities, she hadn't worked out something like this before. But she had thought it was a coincidence that Sirius reminded her a bit of Angel.

"No Ginny, I am Sirius' half nephew, if that. I am not really a Black." But then something hit him, 'The Blacks wouldn't want anyone to know about this. Mr. Black having a child outside his marriage. No wonder my mum never told me about her family. She doesn't want anyone to know."

"I think you're wrong Angel. Well, you **are** wrong about not belonging to the family, but I think you're also wrong about your granparents."

"Angel, I think we should go to Dumbledore. If he doesn't know anything, he can send for your mother so that she can explain further. What do you say?

Angel?"


	7. Chapter 5B Cassie's Family Tree

**Chapter 5.2 ****  
****Cassie's Family Tree**

Angel walked deliberately down five flights of steps and through the hallway towards the gargoyles. Ginny could just barely keep up with him. He was angry. He didn't want comforting, he wanted to be left alone now, he wanted to storm. But when he reached the statues, he realized he did not know the password.

Angle kicked one statue as hard as he could, achieving nothing but a very sore foot. "Damn it, open up." The gargoyles just seemed to stare at him, not moving. "Damn it, if you don't open…..Professor Dumbledore!..Come on, I don't have time to…. " To his surprise, the door opened and the stairway was revealed. Angel and Ginny stepped onto the stairs and they began their ascent into the headmaster's office.  
Was Dumbledore expecting them?

Angel walked into the circular office, not noticing the snoozing pictures, the silver instruments, the morning light that shone across the room or even that Fawkes was on his perch, awake and watching. He walked forward, staring intently at Dumbledore. Dumbledore was sitting behind the large clawfooted desk in deep thought. He looked up and smiled. "Angel, Ginny, I was hoping you would come by tonight. Please take a seat."

Though his anger had not lessened, Angel's curiosity took over. Why would Dumbledore expect him to come by to see him? What was going on? He stared at Ginny who had already taken a seat and was looking intently at Dumbledore. He raised one eyebrow, took a breath and let it out quickly. With a feeling of defeat, he walked slowly a few steps forward and took his seat, facing Dumbledore's desk.

Dumbledore smiled, "Mr. Filch told me that someone was in the trophy room tonight. I deduced that it might have been you. Not a difficult deduction to make, as you have been walking through the castle in the wee hours of the morning for quite some time."

"I know a great many things that happen in the castle and I have become aware of what you found." Dumbledore paused for a moment, leaned forward slowly and then resumed. "I was hoping that your mother would have explained things to you, but she has not. I have been meaning to have this talk with you for quite some time. Now is the right time to have that talk; to be told about your family. And even though your mother may not agree with me, I cannot allow it to be put off any longer."

Although he felt a bit sick, Angel wished that Dumbledore would skip all this explanation and just tell him; get on with it.

"There are few happenings within the wizarding families that are not known to me," said Dumbledore, "I knew both your mother and your mother's parents well. Your grandmother was a student here at Hogwarts. She was brought here from a muggle orphanage. Apparently, her mother and father died when she was very young. Not much else is known about her family, only that her father was a wizard who had no family left alive. Her mother's family did not wish to raise her, so they put her into the orphanage. It would appear that the family was muggle, but it is not certain."

"Your grandmother was one of the best potion makers that ever went to Hogwarts," Dumbledore smiled, "Potion makers seem to run in your family."

"Your grandmother was also a striking beauty. Even with her questionable lineage, she sorted into Slytherin. She caught the eye of several young Slytherin men, yet not one dared to ask her out publicly, knowing that their parents would have disapproved."

"But your grandfather was a very headstrong young man and did what he wanted, usually outside of the eyes of others. He and your grandmother met secretly in their 7th year. The day they graduated, they did not go back to their homes, but left to be married."

"This did not sit well with the Black family, as your grandfather had been promised in marriage to the oldest girl from another pure blood family. Their union would make both families much more powerful and wealthy."

"Your grandfather's family came after him. It took them a week, but they found him and eventually 'persuaded' your grandfather to return to his family. The marriage was annulled. But Rose was pregnant with your mother, Cassie."

"Your grandfather engaged a couple, the Briarfords, to take Rose in and care for her until Cassie was born. When Rose died of 'childbed fever', the Briarfords took Cassie in. Your grandfather made sure that she had everything materially she needed and, upon his request, the Briarfords legally adopted her. Cassie had her physical needs taken care of, but the Briarfords did not treat her as a daughter. There was no love in that house."

"Your grandfather got remarried within a month of leaving Rose. Sirius was born ten months later. Mr. Black had many cares and responsibilities with his new family, yet I know that he visited Cassie. However as time passed he visited less and less."

"Time changes things. Your grandfather changed. The visits to Cassie stopped. He became the most outspoken proponent of anti-muggle legislation and proponent of every law that would promote pure blood power and control. We do not know what causes such a change in others, but it does happen. The Black's youngest son even joined the DEs."

"But I knew your grandfather and I can assure you that, even though he never admitted it, possibly even to himself, he never stopped caring for Rose or your mother. You will find that people are a mixture of thoughts, feelings and emotions. Your grandfather was no exception."

"Dumbledore removed his glasses and wiped them with his handkerchief. He continued, "I knew your mother well when she was at Hogwarts. She was quiet, almost shy, but with a great heart. She was sorted into Gryffindor."

"She and Harry's mother, Lily became fast friends. I rarely saw one without the other until seventh year, when Lily began dating James steadily. Your mother met your father at the world cup the summer before 7th year and was corresponding with him."

"Your mother left with your father the day they finished Hogwarts. They lived in Australia for a time and your mother returned here with you and your sister."

"Angel, I never met your father or his family, so I will not discuss your parent's with you. However, I will send an owl to your mother, telling her that we have had this discussion. Tomorrow begins Christmas break. That will give you and your mother time together."


	8. Chapter 6 Home For Christmas

**Chapter 6 ****  
****Home for Christmas**

"Liam!" called Liam's mother excitedly as she rushed forward to hug her son. Then looking up, she saw Angel. Pulling him forward she hugged him tightly. "Angel, hun, how are you doing?"

"Fine Mrs. Gwydion. How's mom?"

Mrs. Gwydion gave him another hug, "She's lying down in her room. The owl from Dumbledore was a bit difficult for her," she softly smiled at Angel. "You can go in and see her. She should still be awake and waiting for you."

_The Gwydions live very near the Greysons and the families had been close since Cassie moved back from Australia. When Angel was still very young, Cassie had become "emotionally delicate". The Gwydions came over often, helping her to keep up the house and giving her company. Mrs. Gwydion came over when Cassie was feeling tired. She cleaned, took care of the children and many times sat with Cassie until she finally fell asleep._

Angel cracked the door just wide enough to see inside the bedroom. Cassie was sitting up in bed propped up on pillows, a patchwork quilt covering her legs. Matching tables were on each side of her. On one table were many family pictures including one similar to the photo Angel had found in the foreverbox, one of Gordon in a scarlet and gold quidditch robe, and several of Claire and Angel. At the foot of the bed was a cedar chest with several folded blankets on top.

As he opened the door and stepped inside, a sparrow flew through the opposite window and perched atop the headboard, but neither Angel nor Cassie seemed to notice. The house was always full of animals. Lining an entire wall of the room was a large white whicker cage containing tropical birds. The family had four cats and Angel had two large black retrievers named Pepper and Bear. There were perches throughout the house; enough for dozens of birds. Cassie always had the windows open to allow them the freedom of coming and going as they wished.

Angel crossed the room, leaned over the bed and kissed his mother's forehead. He took Cassie's hand in his and sat facing her. "How are you mum?"

"My Angel," she sighed as she looked at him.

Angel knew that his mother was trying to discern his attitude, trying to see how upset he would be with her. Her eyes became bright with tears and she bit her top lip, took a slow breath, never taking her eyes off him. "I'm sorry…"

"Shhhh. Mum, none of that. Nothing to be sorry for." He was now holding her hand in both of his. "Let's just talk a bit. OK?"

Cassie closed her eyes; just what she always did when he wanted to discuss family. But this time he was going to make her answer his questions. "Mum, I know you got an owl from Dumbledore. He told me about your parents."

Cassie slowly opened her eyes, looking as if she was making a decision.

"Angel, hun, there is a small box at the top of the cedar chest. Would you bring it to me please." Angel walked over to the chest, placed the blankets on the floor and opened it. He took out a worn cardboard box and carried it over to Cassie. She removed the lid.  
"These are pictures of my years at school. I sometimes look through them when I am tired."

She reached into the box and pulled out a few pictures. Angel sat down next to her with his back on the headboard. They could look together.

"This is a picture of Lily and me during Christmas break in our 1st year. Her parents invited me to stay over the holiday." In the photo Lily and Cassie were busy decorating the tree; Lily stringing the cranberry and Cassie tying red satin bows.

Cassie continued to pull out pictures while telling about her years at Hogwarts. With each image Angel had a further glimpse into his mother's life. Finally she got to those from her 7th year and Angel was happy to see a smile on her face. Looking at the top of the pile, he thought this picture must have been taken shortly after the one of Lupin at the lake. Both Sirius and Lupin were sitting next to each other at lake edge, both with shoes and socks off, feet in the water; Sirius closest to the camera. They waved and smiled, but a moment later Sirius was in the lake, clothes and all, Lupin laughing and moving quickly away. Not in time though, Sirius pulled him into the lake as well. "Those two………….Such a clown act sometimes."

Finally, when they had looked through all the photos, she put her hand into the box and pulled out black pearl ring with gold lettering. "When Sirius found out about me, he gave me this ring," "I am not sure how he got it or who it belonged to. Sirius would never say. But he found it a bit funny and told me that I was now an official member of the family, he thought it was a bit ironic."

Cassie looked extremely tired. Knowing that further discussion would have to wait, Angel gathered the pictures into the box and laid it on the end table. "Mum, just close your eyes and sleep for a bit. I will come by a bit later when you are rested."

Quietly shutting the bedroom door and walking into the kitchen, he saw only Mrs Gwydion. "Angel, you and Claire are to have dinner at our house tonight. Claire has already gone over with Liam and Mr. Gwydion. I will be expecting you in a while, once you've finished unpacking your things. After dinner we will come back here for a late Christmas Eve celebration……..Cassie will be fine for an hour or so. Don't worry."

A while later, Angel walked back into Cassie's bedroom. She was again sitting up with the box of pictures back in her lap.

"Mum, I am going to Liam's. Will be back in just a bit. Will you be OK?"

"I will be fine. Pepper and Bear are here," she said. Angel knew that his mother would not be in need of company.

Then she said in a more serious tone, "Angel, be careful. I have heard tell of strange happenings nearby, you-know-who has followers everywhere. No one is safe anywhere anymore……and Mrs. Gwydion swears she saw the 'wolf boy' while out walking the other day."

Angel knew what his mother meant. She was talking about a legend told by older wizards. He recalled Mr. Gwydion's exact words when he recounted the story:

_Legend is that the 'wolf boy' was born out of the mist from the moors and brought up by wolves, many saying he is more wolf than man. A being of immense wisdom but also a warrior, he became protector of dark creatures. One eye lost in a vicious fight, his remaining eye is bright golden, a flame of fire within it. He lives off liquid only, giving solid food to dark wolves traveling with him. _

_The 'wolf boy' uses dark magic to protect himself. If a wizard even glimpses him, it is certain that ill will befall that wizard. _

But Angel didn't believe these old tales.

"Don't worry mum. I'll be careful." And he leaned over the bed and kissed his mother's forehead. "See you later."


	9. Chapter 7A Entering Grimmauld Place

**Chapter 7.1 ****  
****Entering Grimmauld Place**

Angel walked across the alley toward the entrance to #12 Grimmauld place, his grandfather's house. Although he had been here a few times as one of the students in the order, this time it would be different, walking through the house as a member of the family.

He paused and rubbed his hands across the front door, feeling the peeling black paint crumble away at his touch. He ran his eyes along the brass knocker. Even though it was in the form of a snake, he thought he had never seen one so beautiful. He reach out and grasped the knocker with every intention of gaining entry, but when his fingers touched the metal, a type of energy rushed through him and his heart raced. It seemed to him that the house was engulfed in spirits, the remnants of his ancestors. Air whipped around the house and through each window and opening , rushing across his ears, pulling him into an uneasy emotional embrace. Was this a welcome home or was it just imagination?

Unwanted emotion was welling up and swirling around inside him. "Just open the damn door," he thought to himself. But waves of understanding kept hitting him. For his entire life he felt he was alone and belonged nowhere. Inside himself, he had created a 'safe place' where he could hide from the world, never realizing that he was locked inside. He had now escaped that prison and was coming 'home' a free man, someone who belonged.

Then, to his amazement, not only did the winds embrace him; he again heard that familiar whisper, a whisper he had never heard outside the castle before. It was almost pulling him into the house and this time he was going to follow.

He had just taken the brass ring in his hand and begun to knock when he heard a scream coming from the alleyway. It couldn't be more than a block away. He squinted into the dimly lit street but saw nothing. Again a scream echoed through the alley, this time even more loudly. Ignoring everything else, he pulled out his wand and walked quickly toward the source of the scream, intent only on helping whoever he came upon. Without realizing it, he had soon walked three blocks from #12.

There was a kind of pricking sensation as the hair on Angel's neck 'stood up' He felt someone was nearby, but just out of site. In the distance, illuminated in the light was a metal bench. Squinting , Angel saw someone hunched beside it. He rushed forward, hoping the person was still alive, but as he came within a few yards, Angel leapt backwards.

The 'someone' lifted his head and bared his teeth, growling. Moonlight silhouetted the creature, but there could be no mistake, this was a werewolf. Nowhere to run, no chance of making it back the Grimmauld place, Angel gripped his wand tightly and began slowly backing up, looking for something to jump behind; all the while not taking his eyes off the creature. "Think," he said to himself, "Come on and think."

But no stroke of brilliance came. His mind was blank. Angel pointed his wand directly at the werewolf as it came slowly forward. The wolf stopped a few feet in front of him. What was going on? Was the wolf enjoying this?

From directly behind him, Angel heard a growl and then felt teeth slash him. There was a second werewolf. His attempt to aim the wand at his attacker was futile. He could no longer feel his fingers and fog was quickly taking over, a burning sensation was coursing through his veins and his head was swimming. As the light dimmed, he could still hear the attack, but it was no longer real to him. He was still there, but seemed detached from what was happening. Last things he remembered were the growls of the attacking wolf, the howl of a single wolf in the distance and what looked like a man watching……..

……. and then darkness.


	10. Chapter 7B The First Awakening

**Chapter 7.2 ****  
****The First Awakening**

Angel woke with a pounding headache and every muscle in his body sore. Even his eyelids hurt. He lied still trying to will the pain to subside. His chest felt like it was on fire.

A cool cloth was being applied to his forehead and strands of his long hair were gently being pushed away from his damp face. He thought how good that cloth would feel against his chest.

He opened his eyes and saw Liam sitting on the bed beside him, eyes full of worry, turning the cloth over. Surprised to see Angel awake, Liam got quickly off the bed, "Angel, thank god!" A bit flustered, Liam seemed unsure of what to do next. "Be right back." And he rushed from the room. He returned a few moments later, Dumbledore at his heals.

Angel felt calmed as Dumbledore looked down at him, smiling and eyes twinkling. "Good evening Angel. Happy to have you back with us."

"Well it seems as if Madame Pomphrey has worked her magic again. Most of your wounds are completely mended . You may have a few lingering scars, but most will disappear with time. I am expecting you to be up and about in no time." And then indicating a pile of books on a nearby table. "Looks as if Ginny made sure you have plenty to do while recovering."

"I was hoping to have a nice long visit, but have some urgent business that must be attended to, so I cannot stay. However I see you are in excellent hands. Try to get some rest." As he was leaving the room, Dumbledore turned back around, "Liam, make sure he follows Madame Pomphrey's instructions exactly."

When the door was closed, Liam looked nervously down at Angel. "Ginny was here until about an hour ago. She is resting upstairs, but if you want me to get her, I can."

Angel did not feel up to seeing Ginny right now. He didn't think he could stand to see the concern in her eyes, knowing that it was his fault, he was the reason for all this. An anger began to well up inside him. He felt so stupid. He wanted to kick himself. And he didn't want Ginny fussing over him. That would only make him feel worse And anyway, it was nice spending time with Liam.

Angel grimaced as he shifted in an attempt to make himself more comfortable. Putting his hand underneath Angel's head, Liam readjusted the pillow  
.

"Liam, I know Professor Dumbledore said that I should be feeling better, but my whole body feels like it is burning from the inside out. And my chest is beginning to sting. I'm sure there is something wrong." Angel closed his eyes and bit his bottom lip, trying to 'buck up' and not show how much pain he was in. He was also getting woozy again.

Liam refilled the bowl with ice water from the pitcher on the table and dipped the cloth into it. As he was removing the sheet from atop Angel, Angel screemed and tore the sheet from his hand, grasping for something on his own chest. Glowing hot from a chain around Angel's neck was the charm that Luna had given him. Liam grabbed the charm and broke the chain, causing medals to fly everywhere. A burn was beginning to blister where the charm had been. Puzzled, Liam looked at his own hands. The medal had felt cool to him. . What was going on? Burning one, but not the other.

Angel sat upright and turned away from Liam. He had to think. It seemed to him that there was a protean charm put on this medal. But if it was, why was it glowing now? He then thought of other magic that could cause a piece of metal to glow hot, many were dark. He couldn't imagine Luna giving him a dark charm on purpose. Probably just a mistake. That's it, just a mistake. With a sigh, he turned around and lied back down.

Liam opened the balm on the table and gently rubbed it on the wound. He was puzzled. He expected the injury to be much worse. That piece of metal couldn't have been hot for much more than a moment or two. "Leave it to Luna and her charms. One of these days she's gonna kill someone."

"Luna is allri….." but he didn't finish his defense of Luna. Angel grimaced. The balm stung almost as much as the charm.

A few minutes later there was no sign of blisters. He also realized his muscles felt better as Liam rubbed in the salve. He opened his eyes and smiled.

Liam quickly got off the bed. "Would you like something to eat? "

"No Liam. I don't want anything. But my chest is still burning. Would appreciate a bit more salve."

Liam walked to the bed and sat, looking at the burn. It covered a bit of Angel's tattoo of a crescent moon. He had a tattoo of a phoenix on one arm and the Gryffindor coat of arms on the other.

"Damn!" The bowl of medicine had slipped from Liam's hands and fallen to the floor. Picking it up and placing it again on the table, Liam was happy to see that as the salve was very thick, very little had been lost. After he wiped the sweat from his palms, he dipped his fingers into the bowl, coating them with the salve that he gently rubbed on Angel's chest.

"Um…Angel," he paused for a minute, catching his breath. "Professor Lupin has been waiting to talk to you. I am sure he knows you are awake. Are you feeling up to a visitor?"

At any other time, Angel would have jumped at the chance to speak with Professor Lupin, but not now. His heart was warning him against it. Right now he would have welcomed a talk with Snape over one with Professor Lupin, yet he could not put his finger on why.

"What I **would** like is to soak in a bath full of ice."

Liam smiled and ran out of the room. "Be right back." When he returned, he and Ron were carrying in a large tub, the twins walking behind, smiling. As soon as the tub had been set down, they waved their wands and the tub was full of ice water. Ron looked flustered. "And why didn't you levitate the tub rather than having me carry it?"

"Never asked," said George.

"Time to go," said Fred winking at Angel, and the Weasleys left Liam and Angel alone.

Angel soaked in the bath, his body feeling cooler, but inwardly burning. Liam sat beside him, questions spinning through his head, thinking he could use a pensieve. He had so many questions for Angel and was trying to decide how to ask them.

'Um….Angel," he waited for some kind of response, but none came. "You know that Ginny has been here with you most of the time, taking care of you. I know that she really likes you." Angel opened his eyes slightly and looked at Liam.

"Angel, are you two going together?"

Angle lifted his eyebrow. "Going together? No, not going together." He had never been closer to anyone in his life, but they were not going together.

Angel looked at him suspiciously, "Why?"

Liam was taken aback, but quickly recovered, "No reason. Just thought you would tell your best friend if you were going steady with someone."


	11. Chapter 7C A Friend and Protector

**Chapter 7.3 ****  
****A Friend and Protector**

_That familiar whisper wove in and out of his dreams. Dreams filled with flashes of different colors; and faces whose features were hidden by a fog. And then nothing but fire….._

Angel awoke, light from the hallway shining across his face and two men walking into the bedroom.

"Ginny, go get some sleep. You have been up all night. I will watch over him for a while. I need to talk to him this morning, anyway."

"Thank you Professor Lupin. I could use a bit of sleep. Wake me up if he needs anything." And Ginny left the room, closing the door behind her.

The early morning rays shone thru the windows, dimly lighting the figures of Professor Lupin and a man with very long red-blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail. They stood a few yards away and were talking so quietly that Angel couldn't hear them. He closed his eyes and concentrated, trying to make out anything, but to no avail.

After a few minutes, they began walking towards the bed, the conversation seemed to be getting louder as well. Angel kept his eyes closed, not wanting them to know he was awake, hoping to overhear.

" No Fault, Lupin! No Fault," said the red haired man sternly.

"It is my fault," answered Lupin. "I left my post."

"We all left our posts! We were tricked, all of us."

"But I was so far away. What was I thinking?"

"You were tricked! We were tricked! Even Rufus! When he tried to scare the boy back to the house, he led him right to the enemy. It was almost as if voldemort had choreographed everything."

They moved to the head of the bed and Angel could feel them staring.

The red haired man continued, "We almost lost the boy….voldemort almost had his next victim, wiping out the Order, one by one."

Lupin's voice broke slightly, "When I heard the fight, I knew immediately what I had done. I knew what was happening."

"Lupin, your howl went through the brothers as if pierced by silver arrows." Pausing briefly, the red haired man continued, "I still do not understand why the boy was out so late."

"I don't know. We expected him long before. I should have done something."

"And you expect you could have helped Lupin? What could you have done that close to sundown?"

The red-haired man paused and seemed to look through Angel. Then continued.

"No blame, Lupin! No blame!……

….I would expect the Order no longer needs me then. The boy looks to be in no condition…"

Lupin interrupted, "He is healing well. It has only been postponed. We will need you again."

Lupin and the red-haired man put their hands on each other's shoulders.

"Thank you Odin. As always, I am in your debt."

"It was an honor to work beside you, brother."

"I will be in touch when you are needed."

The door opened, shining on Angel's face and then closed, leaving Lupin and Angel alone.

Lupin walked to the bed, looking intently at Angel. "Sirius…I'm here Sirius…," he whispered to himself, almost as if dreaming. He was startled to see Angel's eyes open.

"Professor Lupin, what about Sirius?"

"I am so happy to see you again Angel, though the circumstances could have been better." As he looked into Angel's eyes, it was as if looking into Siri's. Siri's eyes. He was transfixed for a few moments, unable to say anything.

Finally he began, "You remind me so much of Sirius. Not exactly, but so much." He took a breath and continued, "I always suspected that you were in some way related, but the pure-bloods are all related……

…….I did not know until recently. Cassie never told me." Then, tightening his jaw a bit, "And Sirius never did either. It was a very well kept secret."

"You cannot imagine my delight to find out you are a member of the Black family, a blood tie. Black blood flows through you. Although I have very little affection for the family, aside from Cassie, you are the closest blood tie to your grandfather, the closest to Sirius."

Lupin then looked around the room, "Since your mother wants nothing to do with the Black family, suffice it to say, in Sirius' absence this house is yours."

After a few minutes, Lupin spoke again in an even voice, a voice very similar to what he used in class.

"Angel,we have a few other things to talk about." Lupin reached into a pocket of his sleeve and pulled out a small tin. The piece of candy he removed looked very similar to a lemon drop, only black. "Put this under your tongue. It will help."

Angel felt better, though still on fire, he was less nauseous and the stinging subsided.

Then from under his robe. Professor Lupin pulled out a kidney shaped flask. "This will help with the scars. Will you allow me to apply a bit?"

Angel nodded. Lupin folded down the sheet revealing Angel's chest. His eyes moved slowly, almost appraisingly between Angel's scars and burn. Taking a deep breath, Lupin looked as if he was making a decision, nodding slightly to himself, but saying nothing. After a few mintues, Lupin 'snapped out of it.'

"Come on Angel, you need to sit up and bit. Can't lie here any longer, need to move these muscles. I am sorry Angel, but if you don't move about now, it will only get worse." With help, Angel was soon sitting on the side of the bed, Lupin next to him, applying the medicine.

"Angel, your mother has discussed her life at Hogwarts? Her friends, those she was closest to?"

Angel nodded.

"Good, good." And his voice trailed off as he seemed at a loss for the exact words to say. "I knew your mother as a close friend then and we renewed our friendship when she returned from Australia. We had both lost those who were very close. Your mother was concerned about what would happen to you if she was unable to care for you. She wanted to be able to choose your godparents, to have you looked after by someone she picked. Well, I would imagine that her first choices would have been Sirius or James, but as James had been killed and Sirius was in Azkaban, that was impossible….. I was delighted and honored that she even thought to ask me and I jumped at the chance….."

Lupin paused, trying to discern Angel's reaction, but Angel wasn't going to give him that satisfaction. Again anger was welling up inside him, anger at Lupin, anger at his mother, anger at Dumbledore, and anger at Sirius. Did everyone know something important about him that they were keeping secret? And why hadn't Sirius let him know? Why?

He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth, trying hard not to scream.

"I am sorry Angel. I know that this is very hard, finding out in this way. I hoped that Cassie would have told you, but it doesn't surprise me that she hasn't. "

Angel clenched his fists in fury. He didn't know why but he felt like pounding them against the headboard, hurling every object in the room. Lupin's calm, caring voice made it worse. Angel's rage seemed to come from the deepest part of him, traveling through every muscle and bubbling over. He was sweating and shaking. He opened his eyes and stared at Lupin, looking for the slightest hint of worry or surprise in Lupin's face. He wanted to attack him!

Lupin quickly sat down on the bed and held Angel's arms still. "And I am here as your godfather. Angel, I care for you more than almost anyone in the world. We will sit here together or we can get up and walk. In either case you will listen to what I say. Do you understand me?"

Angel nodded.

Lupin put his arm around Angel's waist and helped him stand. They walked slowly around the room, Lupin holding Angel, more than just for support, Lupin gave Angel someone to lash out against, pushing against Lupin or pulling away as emotion hit him. Lupin held him tightly, treating this as something normal. The rage abated and Angel regained control of himself. As the anger lessened, Angel felt a strange new feeling towards Lupin. It was similar to affection. But it wasn't affection, it was a closeness, a bond.

His godfather seemed to understand what Angel was feeling, as if he had just felt it himself. This feeling had left Angel disturbingly quieted and content. And when Lupin began to talk again, his voice felt soothing.

"You are doing fine. Your muscles are strong and there were no bones broken. How are you feeling?"

"OK. I feel OK."

"No aches or pains, no nausea? I am surprised. Are you sure?"

And even though he would rather have kept it to himself, Angel felt compelled to tell him. "My insides feel very weird. It is hard to explain, almost as if my veins were burning, boiling: but not really that. Can veins be nauseous? And I am feeling the urge to dig out what is inside, to bleed it out; whatever 'it' is." He leaned his head against Lupins shoulder and they continued to walk.

"Yes, it has started……. Angel, you must be aware of what bit you in the alleyway."

Angel nodded slightly.

"And you are aware of the consequences of such a bite."

His heart was screaming a warning. He didn't want to hear it. He already knew, but he didn't want to hear it. No longer calm, his emotions changed back and forth as if on a pendulum. He pulled against Lupin with all his strength, but to no avail. Lupin would not release his hold on Angel and Lupin was stronger.

"When a werewolf bites, the wolf's saliva mixes with the blood of the victim. If the victim lives after the bite, their blood will contain the essence of the saliva. They will become a werewolf."

"That burning inside is the infection from the bite taking its place in your body. It is a relatively slow process, not being fully complete until after next full moon."

"Liam told me about Luna's charm. You were wearing it when you were bitten. I am guessing that it was glowing as the werewolf approached, but you were unaware of it. This charm detects werewolves. If one is near, the metal will glow, yet it will not hurt the wearer. But if it touches a werewolf's skin it will burn."

"At first, your transformation was not far enough along for the charm to detect it. But it seems that it has since progressed. It will continue to progress. There is no way that I know to stop it, but I will be here to help you get through."

Lupin loosened his grip and Angel jerked away. Tears were flowing from his eyes as he screamed louder than ever before. He threw everything he could get his hands on and when there was nothing else to throw, he pulled the covers from the bed onto the floor. Dropping to his knees he pounded the floor as hard as he could. Lupin made no attempt to stop this rampage. Only when Angel knelt face to the floor, trembling, did Lupin step in.

Against his better judgement, Lupin sat next to Angel on the floor. He lifted him up to a sitting position and put his arms around him, rocking him. Although Angel would not usually have allowed this, it felt natural. Soon Angel's trembling was replaced by silence and they quietly sat.


	12. Chapter 8 Dealing

**Chapter 8 ****  
****Dealing**

Angel sat on the steps to the castle, looking longingly across the empty school grounds. Everyone else was eating dinner in the great hall. He loved the solitude, not wanting to be near anyone, he had only spoken to Dumbledore and Lupin since the day of his first talk with Lupin. He had managed to avoid everyone, even Ginny and Liam.

As the wind blew thru his hair and across his face, Angel longed to be flying again, far above everything, not a care in the world. But he knew this was impossible, for now at least. The burning and nausea had grown stronger, but he was dealing. Yet the lack of nourishment was taking its toll. In just a few days he had become pale and thin, losing weight at an alarming rate. True, he was not eating, but the weight was just melting off him. He was weak and often dizzy.

_Worst of all was his visit to his mother. When he kissed Cassie and gave her a hug, she started shaking and grasped the back of his shoulders tightly, digging her fingernails into him. Looking up into the air as if talking to someone she screamed, "Nobody! Nobody! He is Nobody!" She looked wild, almost mad. _

_Lupin rushed into the room and removed Angel from her grasp. He hugged Cassie and she put her arms around him, sobbing almost hysterically, "He's nobody, Remus, he's nobody. Tell them, he's nobody." Lupin told Angel to leave the room. _

_Since their initial talk, Lupin spent a lot of time with Angel. Although not always with him, he was there when Angel needed him most. _

_On the way back to Grimmauld place, Lupin assured Angel that his mother didn't mean anything she said, she was under a lot of strain lately. She didn't mean it. _

_But Angel felt dazed. His own mother, did she hate him this much? Did she think him as dirty and infected, just like most of the wizarding community? Was he loathsome to her? Was he now nobody? He was growing angry, but as he looked over at Lupin, he again calmed. "Well," he thought, "I am now alone. One friend in all the world." And he was happy it was Lupin_.

Angel's reverie was broken when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Lupin was standing next to him. "Let's walk."

Angel looked forward to these daily walks with Lupin . They were always very calming and centering. The two of them talked about many things, about Angels condition, of course. But most often they talked about the world, about life in general, about things that Lupin learned in his travels. They were becoming very close, closer than Angel had ever felt to anyone, a real friend, a caring teacher, a brother.

Today the subject had turned to Sirius. "He was a bit arrogant," Lupin said with a smile, "James told Sirius more than once that Siri had asked out every girl in the school by end of fourth year. You should have seen him swagger through crowds of girls to get their reaction. He found it very funny……..But no one had a bigger heart. He would do anything for his friends and those he loved, anything. A prankster extraordinaire, I never saw another like him, but always with a great heart. Siri was the best friend I ever had, closer to me than anyone has ever been.

Angel smiled. He knew the Sirius and Lupin had been much closer than friends.

"And you have so many of the traits that remind me of Sirius, you are definitely his nephew. When I look at you, I see Sirius. You have the same blood flowing through you.

Lupin continued, "In my many readings, I have realized how important blood ties are and that magic is very often tied to those of the same family, and much help can be given by one member of a family to another; help that cannot be given by someone from the outside. I am sure that this tie between you and Sirius will become very important. Nothing certain right now, just something to ponder."

Angel again had the feeling that Lupin wasn't telling him everything, but it was OK for now. They just kept walking.

After a few minutes of silence, Lupin began again, "Angel, you know that in a little over a week the moon will be full. You must be prepared. First thing is to formulate a potion for you to take prior to your transformation. Professor Snape will create a potion specifically for you and specifically for this first transformation."

Angel grimaced.

Lupin quickly rolled his eyes and looked sternly at Angel, yet a second later his face softened again, "Until very recently, no potion was available for the first transformation. The bond between werewolf and human must be completed during this time. Most potions interfere with this. Professor Snape has developed a potion that will help you keep you wits about you, but will allow the transformation to complete. I am very grateful to him for his hard work."

"He will be here to see you tomorrow. And you WILL do as he asks. It is imperative that the potion be correct. Do you understand?"

Angel was now walking quickly, two steps in front of Lupin and didn't answer.

That night Angel's dreams were a twisted mixture of images. Colors shooting from wands, werewolves running through dark hallways, Dumbledore dealing playing cards, Sirius illuminated by flashes of light, Lupin looking at the moon, the familiar whisper flowing through everything and then a howl, a howl that seemed to come from within him.

The following night, Angel had the most vivid dream ever. He felt like he was part of this dream, like he was actually there, looking at the scene. He could see Sirius plainly and stepped forward, extending his hands out in front of him, trying to touch Sirius. Looking down at his hands, he saw he was wearing the black ring his mother had shown him. Rays were emitted from the "B", almost as if there was a fire within. He continued to step forward, but Sirius was getting no closer.

He awoke in a sweat with his heart racing. Looking down, he saw no ring on his hands. "Just a silly dream," he thought to himself. A few minutes later he had forgotten it.Walking With Lupin

Angel and Lupin again walked through the school grounds. "I went to see your mother today. We talked for a long time. Angel, I know that she did not mean what it sounded like." Angel turned his head and began to walk quickly, outpacing Lupin. He did not want to talk about this.

"Angel, you will listen. It is important," Lupin said sternly. "You do not have the luxury of running from the truth. You will listen."

Although he didn't want to hear what Lupin had to say, Angel felt compelled to listen. He slowed and they again walked side by side.

"There are a few things you must understand about your mother. Cassie was a quiet person, happy to blend in with all the other students, to be unnoticed. Your mother has a gift that she would rather not have, that she would rather hide away. She is a seer. She witnessed many tragedies and sorrows. While only a few of these came to pass, she was always in fear of her visions. A few years ago she refused to let this continue and started to block everything out.

She is especially afraid of the Blacks. I am uncertain what she has witnessed, but it must have been very frightening. And she is afraid for you and Claire. She tried to remove the Black influence from you.

Angel, your mother told me that her screams were telling everyone you are not a Black. It has nothing to do with your being a werewolf, nothing."

'Oh, I almost forgot," Lupin reached into his pocket and pulled out the black ring. "Your mother has given you this." Knowing that it would make no sense that Cassie would give him the ring, Lupin said, "OK, she did it with my persuasion. But, it is time that you had Sirius' ring. He is a Black as you are."

**Day Before Full Moon**

Angel was again sitting on the Hogwart's steps. Everyone was again in the great hall eating. He knew well that tomorrow was full moon and was absentmindedly looking across the grounds again, waiting for his walk with Lupin. He was wearing the ring and was slipping it on and off his finger.

"Hey Bonehead!" came a call from behind.

"Oh no," thought Angel, gritting his teeth. Liam! The last person he wanted to see. "What does he want?"

Liam sat down on the step beside him. He reached over and held Angel's wrist so that the ring was visible. "Yup, 'B' for bonehead."

"Get out, Liam!" Angel growled as he snatched his arm back.

"And now you've just proved it. Quit acting like a bonehead. You won't let Ginny or me come around anymore." Liam's stomach growled loudly. "And you're making me miss dinner too!……. You need to get off it! You can't go it alone. "

Angry, Angel tried to push him away, but Liam deflected the push, slapping Angel's arm in the process. Growing angrier, Angel again tried to push Liam away. "Get away Liam!"

"Or what?...Nope, not until you tell me you're gonna quit acting like a bonehead. Like it or not, you're stuck with me."

Liam teasingly punched Angel in the shoulder. "Bonehead!"

"You'd better quit."

"Or what...bonehead!"

A minute later Angel was on top of Liam, throwing punches, Liam deflecting them as best he could. Angel's jaw was clenched and tears were streaming from his eyes. "OY!" Blood began flowing from Liam's nose where Angel had made contact.

Angel came to his senses. He loosened his hold on Liam. But as soon as he let down his guard, Liam rolled over so that Angel was now pinned to the ground, Liam's blood now flowing onto Angel's robe.

"Good evening," came Lupin's voice from behind them. Angel thought he looked a bit amused. "I could allow this to continue, if you wish." Angel and Liam quickly got to their feet.

"Liam, I am happy to see you are here as well. I was hoping to have a talk with both of you."


	13. Chapter 9 Shadow of the Moon

**Chapter 9: ****  
****Shadow of the Moon**

**_I'm being followed by a moonshadow - Cat Stevens_**

Angel's mind was fixed on his upcoming transformation; it was almost time. Lupin was waiting for him. Yet Angel stood in the shower, ice cold water splashing his face and running down is skin. Lupin had assured him that everything he was going through today was normal, everything Angel felt would be intensified; not only the pain and anger he had felt prior, but all sensations, emotions and impulses. This was to be expected, especially during the day of the first transformation. Yet, this was the third shower Angel had taken today.

Angel put on his robe and stepped out of the bathroom.

Standing in the bedroom, deep in conversation were Lupin and the red-haired man. When they noticed Angel, Lupin said, "Angel, I would like you to meet someone. We must be quick though, he only has a moment."

"This is Odin McCallister, the man who saved you from Voldemort's wolves."

Angel rushed forward, extending his hand. Odin, rather than extending his, made a very slight bow of his head closing his eyes for a second and then looked back up. Angel recovered quickly and returned the greeting in kind. Then, without notice, suddenly turning around, Odin rushed from the room.

Lupin smiled at the confusion on Angel's face, "That's just Odin's way."

_During their nightly discussions, Lupin had talked about Odin. He was the man of wizarding myth. Seems Odin was a very old soul who roamed the countryside, many times with the wolves of the area. Through the years he also befriended those men who had become werewolves, Lupin among them. Through Lupin, Odin was introduced to the Order and its fight against Voldemort. _

_Lupin had explained what happened the night of the attack. Voldemort had his DEs and followers looking for any way to attack the Order members or their families. During last full-moon, his werewolves were out in force, looking for an opportunity. Odin and his brother werewolves patrolled the area during that time. Angel had come upon Rufus, one of the brother werewolves. Rufus tried to scare Angel back to the house, to safety, but only led him to Voldemort's wolves. Angel had been badly injured before the 'brothers' could free him. Yet if not for Odin and the 'brothers', Angel would have died. _

_Odin and the brothers would be patrolling again tonight. They would stay as far away from Angel and Moony as safely possible, but their scents would still be strong and carry into the lawn. _

Lupin smiled encouragingly and he led Angel into the hallway and off towards the cellar.

"Hey bonehead, wait up!" Liam came running behind him and soon was walking alongside. He teasingly punched Angel on the shoulder, smiling at him.

Angle glared at Liam. He knew well that Liam was trying to make him laugh, help him through this, but he was driving him nuts! Liam had been like a shadow today, telling jokes, poking fun at him and singing stupid songs. He even short sheeted his bed last night and put a picture of Professor Snape on the bedside table. Seems Professor Snape was upside down in the frame saying, "Mr. Greyson what have you done? One trillion points from Gryffindor!" Liam was now walking beside them whistling the tune from that muggle TV show Francesca had told them about.

"Thank you Liam," smiled Lupin, "but it may not be wise to bother Angel too much at this time."

Liam would be present at the transformation.

_The morning after Angel was bitten, Liam waited outside Angel's bedroom door, listening. He confronted Lupin just outside the threshold, insisting that he, Liam, be with Angel during his transformations. Lupin gladly agreed. Liam would be there tonight in case something went wrong. Also there would be times Lupin could not be present when Angel transformed and he wanted someone to be there as friend and support in his absence. _

Unbeknown to Angel, Lupin had chosen the cellar room so in the event something went wrong, they would be separated from the rest of the house and from the world outside. Lupin did not want Angel to know that something could go wrong.

Angel shivered as he walked into the room. It was cold, dark and dank. The floor and walls were dirt, covered with a thin film of water, probably from the moisture in the air. There was no furniture in the room; it was empty except for a large sheepskin blanket on the floor in the center of the room. Lupin smiled, "From your mother. It will cushion you during the transformation."

Angel and Lupin undressed and handed their clothes to Liam, who carefully folded them and placed them in a corner. It was only then that it really hit Angel that Lupin would be transforming as well. Of course he knew this, but with his own transformation taking up his thoughts, Angel hadn't given much thought to Lupin. He began to panic, he didn't know if he could handle seeing Lupin transform as well.

Lupin sat down on the blanket, "Come, Angel," he said softly, yet firmly, "It's time."

His emotions intense but confused, Angel felt anger at Lupin. He was drawn to him, yet he attempted to rip himself away from his influence. Yet he also felt love for him. Angel looked imploringly at Liam, his eyes screaming, "Help me, do something, anything!" Liam's eyes answered soothingly, "It will be all right, Angel. I'm here." When Angel continued to stare, cemented to the spot, shaking, Liam ran to him and held him. "Shhhh. Angel. I'm here. Shhhh."

"It's time, Angel," said Lupin more sternly. Liam kissed Angel's forehead and backed away from him, sitting on the floor against the wall. Crawling slowly across the floor, feeling the damp cold through his knees, Angel finally crawled to the center of the blanket and took his place beside Lupin.

"You may have noticed that your thoughts have become a bit foggy. That is normal." Lupin put his arm around Angel, "Soon you will feel it pulling." If Lupin had not been holding him, Angel thought he would have run from the room. He wanted to yell to the world that they were wrong, a mistake had been made, it wasn't him, he shouldn't be here. He again looked over at Liam, whose eyes were still telling him it was OK.

Then it began. Lupin quickly pulled away from him and moved off the blanket onto the dirt floor. Angel felt as if something inside was literally being pulled out of him. Everything inside him was shifting. Bones were elongating, reforming, muscles stretching……Pain. More painful than he ever imagined, more painful than the attack. He pushed hard against the blanket trying to keep the beast within, but it kept coming. His eyes were shut, full of tears. His voice changed, deepened and he let out a loud growl. Then everything stopped. The pain was gone.

It was not until his growl was returned, that he opened his eyes. A brown and grey wolf was standing beside him, looking down…….Moony!

Angel stood up and shook himself with excitement, feeling new muscles. He looked back over his new, muscular body. His fur was jet black with a hint of blue that showed only where light shone on it. And he had a tail, a tail! This was wonderful! He stood, staring as he wagged it vigorously.

A nudge from Moony stopped this play. Everything was fine. It was time to romp in the yard. Moony again nudged Angel, indicating that he wanted Angel to follow.

Liam laughed, "You look just like Moony's shadow!." And he echoed teasingly, "Moony's shadow…Hmmmmm…. Well 'Shadow it is. You sure don't look like an Angel."

"Hey Shadow! Time to play!" Liam opened the door and Moony bounded out, Shadow behind, Liam running to keep up. As they sped through the hallway, Shadow was aware that everything looked different, sharper, more intense. The light from the torches seemed harsh and hurt his eyes. Smells were so strong and pungent he felt ill. Sounds seemed to be racing each other across the room. He had to get away or he would go crazy.

Moony led Shadow through the entrance hall, stopping in front of a large tapestry hung from the wall. Liam, gasping for breath, took out his wand and pointed it at the tapestry, "Alohomora". The tapestry began to move as if being blown in a gentle breeze. Moony, waiting no longer, ran behind the tapestry and into the night. Liam, smiling at Shadow, pulled the tapestry back. Shadow felt the moon pull at him, singing a sweet melody, urging him to come and dance. Shadow was unsure, slowly moving to the threshold, only his face outside.

The darkness that replaced the harsh lights was soothing. Moony was standing in the distance, wagging his tail, inviting him to come out and play. Shadow ventured a bit and walked outside. He turned to feel the wind blowing through his fur and then, unexpectedly, without a thought, he lifted his head to the moon and howled! This was wonderful!

He began to run towards Moony but was distracted. The scents were overpowering, almost alive. Sight and smell had no boundary, so that a scent may be brown or orange or red. The plants seemed to be giving off their own light, independent of moon shine.

Shadow found himself following an orange smell until it crossed a brown smell. He then followed the brown one. In fact, there were so many smells crossing one another, he was soon running in circles. He only quit when something hit him. It was Moony, who growled, telling him to stop. Then Moony nudged him, indicating that Shadow should follow.

Moony chose a scent and began following it. Even though they crossed other scents, many more interesting than the one they were following, Moony kept following the same scent. He stopped only when the trail led to the edge of a creek. Shadow knew he would have to learn concentration…….but not now!

He wagged his tail and nudged Moony! Running quickly away.

Moony quickly ran at Shadow, knocking him down and then moving away. By the time Shadow was on his feet, Moony was running back and forth, wagging his tail, inviting Shadow to play. Shadow bounded forward and joined him.

The night was pure enjoyment. They raced each other, chased whatever came along(always hoping for a cat) and wrestled. The only break came when Moony stopped abruptly, nose in the air, peering into the woods, listening intently. He seemed to think something was there, though a few moments later he was again playing.

Although he would never have believed it, Shadow didn't hate this. He felt ease, at peace, part of everything; not separated and alone. He could no longer discern where objects ended and others began, everything flowed together as one. And the bond between Moony and Shadow intensified, almost fusing their souls together; brothers, but much more than brothers. So close, no uttered word could describe it.

And Liam sat on the step outside the threshold , watching through the night.


	14. Chapter 10 The Unexpected Task

**Chapter 10: ****  
****The Unexpected Task**

The Pain subsiding, but still shaking, Angel woke to find himself lying on a rug in front of a roaring fire. He was covered in a patchwork quilt, Liam kneeling beside him, applying a cloth to his forehead. Phhhew! The cloth stunk, but felt soothing.

Turning his head slightly, Angel saw Lupin lying fast asleep on the rug. He was also covered in a quilt and had a cloth on his forehead. Liam had taken good care of them both.

Overcome with emotion at seeing Angel awake, Liam sat down and pulled Angel towards him into a firm hug. Without thinking, Angel lifted his arms and embraced Liam, but only for a few moments. Taking in a gasp of breath, Angel quickly pushed away, his eyes wide with shock and surprise.

Angel was surrounded by the pungent odor, but it was no longer offensive. He was engulfed in what he soon realized was Liam, he breathed deeply, trying to imprint the smell in his memory. There was a hint of another essence , slowly becoming stronger. His skin began tingling, the sensation radiating through him, traveling to every nerve. He looked up at Liam, through his, Angels, curtains of dark hair, his eyes clearly showing intent.

Liam, taken aback, allowed Angel to take charge. Angel pulled Liam into a firm, almost painful embrace. Then, beginning at the outside of Liam's left eye, Angel open mouthed, began tasting Liam, allowing his tongue and teeth to run along Liam's skin.

"Angel!"

Disoriented, Angel felt something pulling him away from Liam. "Angel! Come on…… Liam, back away."

It was Lupin! What was going on? Lupin persisted and soon Angel and Liam were separated and sitting on the floor. Anger building inside, Angel couldn't believe Lupin's nerve. What business was this of his?

"I'm sorry Angel, Liam. First, you should not be exerting yourself so soon after your transformation. You need time to heal." Although every muscle in his body was sore and his head ached, Angel thought there was plenty of time to heal later. He was pissed. Lupin continued, "And secondly, I am not telling you what or what not to do, but you may want to postpone until a later time," then looking sternly at Angel, Lupin said firmly, "when the wolf is not so strongly remembered. You WILL postpone." He sighed and shook his head slightly. "Liam, Angel needs care and sleep today. He should not be expending too much energy right now. Time…. Just of bit of healing time…." Then with a slight smile, "Tomorrow should be time enough…….Noon tomorrow and not before."

**Warmth**

AAAAhhh!….. Angel gasped as Lupin massaged oil into his shoulders and neck. The steam from the bath water filled the small room and Angel breathed it deeply. Lupin dipped his hands into the bowl of oil on the marble surround and continued the massage. On either side of the oil were two other bowls. One bowl was empty. Earlier it contained the salts that had been added to the bath water. The second bowl held a lotion to be used after the bath.  
"I want you to take a salt bath for the next two mornings, "Lupin instructed.

Lupin spent the rest of the day with his godson, allowing Angel to talk about anything and everything, only giving his insight when asked for or when it was needed.

That night, when Angel finally drifted off to sleep, Lupin slowly walked to his own room and made his way to the bed. Weak, aching and exhausted, he fell onto the mattress. Even after the company of his godson, Lupin felt cold and alone. He had spent the entire day caring for Angel, not giving a thought to his own need for recovery.

Yes, Lupin was taking good care of Angel. But who was taking care of Lupin?

**Next Morning**

Angel awoke just before sunrise. He looked at the bedside table, seeing the picture of Snape along with the cold tea left in the cup from last night. In just under two hours he would be meeting with Professor Snape, who was formulating the potion for his upcoming transformations. The potion for his first transformation would no longer be sufficient.

Angel knew he should go to the bathroom and soak in the salts, his muscles still ached. But he no longer had a headache and his burning from the inside was gone; replaced with sort of an itch, but not exactly. He hadn't felt this good in a month.

He decided to tell Lupin that he was going to leave the house today to travel to muggel London. He had a few shops he wanted to visit there and thought he would also pick up some licorice for Lupin. He just had to be back in time for the Order meeting tonight.

He dressed in blue jeans and black tee and layed his black boots and black leather jacket on the bed. Combing his hair with his fingers, he ran off to get some tea.

The house felt empty, everyone was asleep, but Angel liked it like this. Passing Liam's room, Angel saw light flickering from under the door. Liam was going to meet with Snape and then visit Francesca this morning. Her mother was not doing well. But it was early and Liam should still be asleep. Angel knocked and opened the door. Liam was sitting propped on pillows reading. He was dressed in a white cotton shirt tucked into a pair of black jeans. Looking both ways down the hallway to make sure no one else was around, Angel stepped into the bedroom.

"Morning Angel. Couldn't sleep. Thought I'd catch up on potions."

Angel smiled and sat in the center of the bed, legs crossed. Leaning forward and allowing his hair to fall across his face, he looked at Liam, eyes full of mischief. Wide eyed, Liam sat up a bit straighter and backed against the headboard in an attempt to move away. "Angel, Professor Lupin said noon."

A glint in his eye, Angel slowly moved toward Liam on hands and knees, finally leaning forward, opening his mouth and teasing him with four quick 'kisses', sucking Liam's bottom lip each time. He moved away very slightly, winked, looked into Liams eyes, and moved his the tip of his tongue slowly along his own lips and upper teeth. Slowly untucking Liams' shirt, his hands reached Liam's belt buckle….

A while later, Angel and Liam lay beside each other on the bed. Liam outlining the scars on Angel's back with his finger. He moved closer. Starting at Angel's neck and moving slowly downward, Liam followed the scar, kissing it as he went. Angel turned around and embrased him.

Suddenly, there was a sharp knock and the door swung open. A moment later someone walked in. It was Snape! His face showing no surprise, he glared at them.

"Mr. Gwydion, Mr. Greyson, I am waiting. But as you are otherwise occupied…….. you must think that I have nothing better to do but wait for your teenage hormones to be satisfied. If you are quite done, would you get downstairs!" And he left slamming the door behind him.

Liam startled, sat up and started to dress, worried, not wanting to make Snape any more upset. But from behind him, he heard Angel laughing, and the laugh was infectious. Soon both were laughing until their eyes were filled with tears. Angel slapped Liam on the back and got up off the bed. "We really need to dress and get downstairs. I get first dibs on the shower," and he ran into the bathroom.

Silently, they walked downstairs and entered the kitchen. Snape,Lupin, Ginny and the twins were seated at the table; everyone eating breakfast except Snape, who seemed preoccupied. Conversation ceased when they entered the room and it felt to Angel and Liam that everyone was staring at them, as if everyone knew and had been discussing them. Ginny stood, looked at Angel, tears in her eyes and ran from the room. Fred and George glared.

The silence was broken by Angel's stomach growling. Lupin shook his head slightly and smiled, "Good morning. I have saved breakfast for you." Angel tried to discern Lupin's mood. He didn't seem upset at all. But why? Angel had gone directly against Lupin's instructions.

" If you are quite ready…." Snape began.

"Severus, let them eat. "

"Lupin, I am in a Hurry," snarled Snape. "I do not intend to waste my time waiting on those who do not have the decency to be punctual." He looked up and glared at the two.

"We don't feel like eating anything, but thanks Professor Lupin, " Angel said quickly. He didn't feel much like sitting at this table. "Liam, let's go…….that is if you're ready Professor Snape."

**That Evening**

"Bonehead!" Liam punched Angel in the shoulder and moved quickly away.

"Arse," laughed Angel and he pushed Liam hard, almost knocking him down.

"Look who's talking!" Liam punched Angel hard and took off running down the hall, Angel right behind him.

They were on their way to the meeting of the Order. Angel was excited. He hadn't been to one in a month. They had just rounded the corner when they stopped dead in their tracks, suddenly getting very quiet. Ginny and Lupin were standing at the entrance to the meeting room, in conversation.

"I'm fine, Professor Lupin," Ginny said, sobbing. "I always knew there was little chance, but……." Her voice trailed away.

"It would have been better if Angel told you himself, but with the current environment…. We don't have the luxury of waiting for Angel to come to terms with the situation enough to tell you. We can have no secrets between you. And time is short."

Lupin had taken it upon himself to be intercessor between Angel and Ginny. The morning after the full moon, the day he had spent taking care of Angel, Lupin had found the time to talk with Ginny. He had somehow known Angel's mind even before Angel did.

Lupin turned, and seeing them standing there smiled, "Good evening Angel, Liam. Shall we go in?" Ginny hurried into the room.

Angel and Liam took their places at the table, Ginny sitting just to Angel's left, across from Lupin. Her eyes were red and puffy. She was determinedly looking face forward, directly at Lupin.

Lupin began, "I was expecting a meeting of the entire Order tonight, but plans have been changed. Instead, the meeting will be between the four of us, discussing a mission that we will be involved in."

He leaned forward, looking seriously into the surprised faces of the trio.

"We have lost so many order members and other great wizards at the hand of Voldemort and his DEs. So many lives have been lost. Liam, I believe your aunt Kate and uncle Angus? And we know the sorrow that your family has suffered, Ginny. All have been touched in some way.

It is rare that we have the chance to recover someone that most would think dead. But I believe that opportunity has come. Up to this point, all attempts to return this person have been fruitless, but I am hopeful that we now have the magic to do so.

Everyone in this room will play a vital role."

He paused, looked between them and took a deep breath. When he began again, his voice shook slightly as if he were trying to suppress the emotion in what he was about to say. Yet, even though he wouldn't allow his voice to convey it, his eyes grew damp and excitement shone through.

"You may be wondering what this mission is. What the ministry would have us do?" Again he paused.

"We are going to retrieve……..

……Sirius Black."


	15. Chapter 11 Preparation

**Chapter 11: ****  
****Preparation**

_Lupin began to explain how Liam, Ginny, Angel and Lupin himself would be recovering Sirius from behind the veil._

"In the bowels of the ministry is an entrance portal to a different world; a different dimension. The ministry has been studying this dimension, but still very little is known. We have found several exit portals. However, no exit portal has been found within the ministry building. The ministry has been studying this dimension, but very little is known. "

'We are sure that Sirius is still alive in this dimension, but lost in the ether. His whispers have been heard by several people, one of these being you, Angel."

Angel was taken aback. He had suspected that the whisper was Sirius'. He had heard it so many times in his dreams, so many dreams that now were only of Sirius in the dark and werewolves howling. Yet, Angel kept telling himself it was just imagination.

But how did Lupin know? Angel hadn't told anyone about the whisper, not even Ginny or Liam.

Lupin continued, "One of the exit portals is in the closet of the trophy room at Hogwarts. Seems you have been seen in that closet a few times. Dumbledore concluded that Sirius's whisper had been pulling you there…….Is his conclusion correct?"

Angel nodded.

Lupin gave Angel a comforting smile.

"Now I will continue with the most important part of this meeting. The reason you three have been chosen for this mission."

Lupin continued sounding as if teaching his DADA class, "Bellatrix, who is a member of Sirius' family is responsible for Siri being in this void. The magic she used is was very powerful. We have never yet been able to retrieve anyone from the void. We have been attempting to retrieve Sirius since he fell in. All out attempts have been fruitless. Only recently have we learned why."

"Everything in nature has a balance. Every action has a consequence. If used incorrectly, magic can upset that balance, but the universe will eventually win. The attempt to save Sirius can only be done using someone related to Sirius, someone who is Sirius' blood relation."

"It was 'blood' that sent Sirius into the void and it must be 'blood' that retrieves him from the void. This is true 'blood' magic."

"Me?" asked Angel. "I am his blood? I am going to save him?"

"You are his blood relation, Angel. If you agree to do it, you will be rescuing him, but with all of us helping you. I will explain what we are planning and then will ask you to decide if it is something you are willing to do. The plan can always be changed if you decide against it."

"You are wondering what is being planned?

"Angel will be going through the veil, find Sirius, lead him to an exit portal and back to our dimension. Very straight forward and simple."

"Yet there are a few more things we need to think about. The search for Sirius will take place in the complete darkness of the void. There will be no place of reference given from inside. Once Sirius is found, you, Angel, must make sure to keep track of him…yes keep track of him, then locate one of the exit portals while leading Sirius; again all of this in complete darkness."

"Oh yes, one more important detail, the portal cannot be open more than a second.  
When a portal is opened, it disrupts everything around it. If open too long, changes to matter and gravity will be so great that we do not even want to think about the consequences."

Lupin leaned back, smiled and folded his hands on the table, amused at the expressions on Liam, Ginny and Angel's faces.

"Sound impossible?"

"Here is how we are going to do it."

"When you enter the void, the first thing is to find Sirius. We know that he is whispering to you, so you could follow that whisper, but that is not enough and we can't count on it. Angel, you have the ring that I gave to you?"

Angle nodded.

"This ring is Sirius' ring. We will put several spells on it. First, when in the void, the ring will glow when near its owner, Sirius; glowing brighter the nearer you get, eventually giving off enough light to see a bit through the blackness. This will help you find Sirius. You will also have the whisper. Although this seems very little to go on, we know that Sirius isn't deep into the void, only at the edges. We know this, since only those on the edges can still be heard on the outside."

"Once you find him, you must keep track of him so that he is not lost again. You must keep him with you."

"Then you must find your way to one of the portals. And this must be done in the darkness of the void. Angel, this is where Shadow becomes important. I was watching you in the morning after the full moon and saw how much the wolf was still on you, how much he was still remembered."

Lupin smiled, holding back a laugh, "Your instincts were still very sharp." He continued, "If other wolves had been near, you would have been closely drawn to them as well."

"Odin and the brother wolves will be stationed just this side of the exit portals. You will be drawn to the wolves, therefore finding your way out."

"The portals will be closed. We cannot see you through them,so we will not know when you have come to one. The wolf on the other side may sense someone there, but we can only open it for one second and cannot use the wolf's sense for this…… Instead we will put a spell on the ring to act as a key to the portal. When you get close to it, the portal will open and you will be sucked through it into our dimension."

"Any questions yet?"

"This is going to be done at the next full moon?" Angel asked.

"Not exactly, Angel. If Voldemort gets wind of this, he will be expecting it to be at full moon and will have his wolves ready to ruin the plan. Also, you must go in as Angel and not Shadow. No, we are going to do it the evening after full moon."

Angel looked puzzled.

"There are several ways to transform, once you have been bitten. One is during full moon. Another way is by magic or potion. Those who wait at the portals will take the potion to make them transform. You, on the other hand, will not. You must go in and find Sirius as Angel, not Shadow. We feel that the blood magic is exacting. Yet, being so soon after full moon, you will be able to sense one of the wolves and find the portal."

"I have been watching you for the last month. Seeing the way you handled yourself before and after full moon….. I am very proud. I would not ask this of you unless I believed you could do it…….."

"Yes," interrupted Angel. "Yes, I will do it."

Lupin beamed at Angel, his eyes beginning to mist over, "Thank you Angel."

When he composed himself again, Lupin continued.

"A few more things. First, Angel, I will be giving you some excercises that will allow you to more easily concentrate and focus once you get into the void. This will keep you from being disoriented…..Liam, I am expecting you to help Angel with this."

"And Liam, I will be waiting at one of the portals. I will be expecting you to be with Angel as he enters the veil."

"Next, only a few wizards know we are doing this and it must be kept that way. We are certain that the Black women will become aware of our intentions once Angel has stepped into the void. However, Dumbledore has taken care of that situation."

"Ginny, what I need you to do is to keep us safe here by diverting anyone who may decide to come into the ministry at that time. There may be DEs as well."

Lupin knew that the ministry had protection and diversion under control and did not need anyone else to help with this, but Ginny, being so close to Angel, would have found out about the mission and would have wanted to be part of it. In this way she would have something to do before and during the mission.

The month went by very quickly as preparations were made.

Every evening Liam and Angel practiced the centering excercises. They entered a large, completely dark room. Liam hid an object and Angel walked through the room until he found it. This helped Angel get used to being in the dark as well as locate inanimate objects in the dark.

They also practiced finding a person in the dark, without a light. This would help Angel find Sirius in the void. Liam sat quietly in a part of the room until Angel found him. After only a few evenings, Angel could heart Liam's breathing. After a week, he was able to hear Liam's heart beat. Yes, Angel had a gift.

Throughout these sessions Angel and Liam grew closer.

Ginny was very busy learning the protection and diversion spells.

Angel learned many other things. During one of their talks, Lupin explained that prior to Angel becoming a werewolf, there was a slightly different plan for Sirius' return. Originally, Moony was to go into the void with Angel, to help guide Sirius and Angel back to a portal. However the Order was not sure whether Moony would be able to use the exit portal himself. He may have been lost within the void. But Lupin was willing, if there was even a chance. Yet now that Angel was a wolf himself, there was no need to risk Lupin's freedom.

Angel also found that it was not entirely safe for the wolves to take the transformation potion on the evening after full moon.

**At the Veil**

It was time.

Angel stood outside the veil, Liam standing next to him, holding the black leather jacket.

Ginny was one floor up casting the needed diversion spells. Lupin was in position at one of the portals. It was just Liam and Angel.

Angel checked to make sure he had everything, yup the ring was on his finger. Around his neck was a chain with a leather case attached. He opened the case to make sure the charm was glowing. Yes, good. He put it back into it's protective case.

Attached to a belt loop of his jeans was his swiss army knife. A 16th birthday present from Fred and George, who were convinced it would come in handy, especially as they had sharpened the blades magically.

Liam held out Sirius' black leather jacket and helped Angel slip it on. The jacket looked like it was almost as big as Angel himself. Stowing something into a pocket of the jacket, Liam kissed Angel's neck.

Turning around to look at Liam, they embraced briefly. Angel rolled up the sleeves on the jacket.

Taking a deep breath and closing his eyes briefly, Angel turned toward the veil…….

…… and stepped through.


	16. Chapter 12 Tied to Family

**Chapter 12: ****  
****Tied to Family**

Deep into the darkest emptiness he had ever known, the void went on forever and he had been here always, or so it seemed. Angel walked thru darkness. He could have been there a week or a moment, he didn't know. To make it even worse, ribbons of swirling voices sung continually in his ears. He thought he would go mad.

His stomach growled loudly. Maybe he should have thought to bring food along, but too late now. Sirius may not need to eat, but Angel felt weak with hunger.

He continued to walk through this complete darkness, hand held out in front of him, staring toward the finger that held the ring, or he thought the ring was there. He could see nothing and not even a flicker of light shone from it.

He sat down and rested his head in his hands, hoping for something, anything…he didn't care. He felt he was fading, becoming part of the darkness himself unable to feel and not even caring. Maybe he would just sit here forever. If this was a nightmare……maybe it was…it had to be a nightmare. He prayed for someone to wake him. His mind was clouding.

Wake from the nightmare……he had to wake up.

He remembered the chain around his neck and ran his hand along it until he found the case, opening it. The amulet glowed white hot. He unzipped Sirius' jacket a few inches and touched the charm to his chest. The hot metal seared his skin. He was still in the nightmare, but now knew this was not a nighttime nightmare, but a waking one. However, he now felt something, it might have been pain, but it was something. And this was sufficient to center him and bring him back enough to begin moving forward again.

**Later****  
**  
Heel-Toe-Heel-Toe

"455……456…….457……458"

Angel walked placing one foot directly in front of the other, kicking his foot out in front of him and snapping it back so the heel hit the toe of the foot still on the ground.

"459……460……….461"

He was counting each step, measuring time, organizing this nothingness. But the voice that was whispering in his ear kept interrupting, causing him to lose count and begin again.

"What? Just tell me what?" He was certain the voice was trying to tell him something; whether an explanation or warning; Angel did not know, but the voice was persistent. He had just about had enough, though. He was not going start over! He put his hands over his ears, trying to block the voice.

But, the voice did not soften, his hands could not block it. The voice was inside him. What kind of place was this?

He wished the voice away and it was gone.

He began walking again….

"1……2…….3….4…."

**Later**

Tired of counting, Angel quieted his mind. Then he heard it. A heartbeat and shallow breathing. He knew this heartbeat!

"Liam!" he screamed, sprinting towards the source of the noise.

"Don't be an idiot," he said to himself, stopping in his tracks. "Liam?…..Liam?" Liam couldn't be here. …."yet, if I wish hard enough."…..The heartbeat became louder and surrounded him….his skin tingled and the feeling began radiating through him…then hands pulling him away.

What was this place? It seemed that everything within him was being pulled out and mixed with everything on the outside. He couldn't stay here. He needed to keep going.

Revitalized, no longer exhausted, he resumed the pursuit.

**Later **

He found himself slapping his forehead to the beat of his singing…

…and then he sensed it, a wolf brother. He must be near an exit portal. Heart racing, he started forward. "No idiot, no," he screamed to himself "Run!……Run!" Ripping himself around he darted back into his dark prison, his screeches piercing the air; and then a laugh filled him, an uncontrollable laugh. "I am going mad," he thought as fell to the ground, convulsing.  
**  
****Later**

Walking forward again, sick and weak, not thinking, he covered himself with Sirius' jacket, pulled the collar up over his ears, unrolled the sleeves, unzipped it and, without taking it off, wrapped it around him. It was a kind of comfort but tears began to flow.

"Center Angel…control yourself…." But no longer! Ripping off Sirius' jacket he hurled it onto the ground and screamed, his chest now wet with tears. He wanted to tear that jacket apart. Reaching down to pick it up from the ground, he noticed…

The ring……he could see the ring…..a faint glow was coming from the 'B' imprinted on the stone. When he waved his hand, light trails lingered in the air. Quickly slipping the jacket back on and rolling up the sleeves, Angel prayed this was not again just his imagination.

His heart was racing….pounding in his ears. He was going to find Sirius. The ring glowed brighter with every step he took. And another heartbeat….he heard another heartbeat. A few steps further, the light shone on a face…the face in his dreams….Sirius.

Taken by surprise, Sirius turned away, bounding back into the darkness.

Angel hadn't planned on this, but he should have. If he, Angel was so greatly effected by the emptiness in this short period of time, how much more Sirius, who had endured all these months.

Sirius was still close. The ring shone brightly, but even better, Sirius was startled and a bit afraid. Fear was easy to find. Not wanting the ring to alarm Sirius further, Angel stowed it in his jacket pocket. Again in darkness, Angel turned, taking aim in Siri's direction…….. forward, pelted into him and knocked him over, flat on his back. Pinning Sirius to the ground, Angel sat on top of him. "Hellooooo Sirius!" laughed Angel.

Putting the ring back on his finger, Angel looked into Sirius' face, smiling. "Sirius, I am Angel. Angel, remember. I am Cassie's son. I have come to get you." Angel wasn't sure how much Sirius understood, there was some cognizance, he knew there was. Yet, there was confusion there as well. There was fear, but also the air of relief. Angel could sense all these things.

Sirius seemed to understand that Angel was there to help him. He wasn't fighting. Both men's eyes were wet. Angel ran his fingers through Sirius' hair and leaned down to kiss his forehead, tasting the salt of his own tears.

Sitting again, Angel winked, "OK Sirius. Enough of this. Time we were getting out of here."

"Now how to keep you with me…."

Angel's tee would work nicely. Angel slipped it over his head and then again slipped his jacket back on. He took the tee and began to twist it as if wringing water from it.

Eyes twinkling, Angel held onto Sirius' right wrist. Angel tied one end of the tee to Sirius' wrist and one end to his, Angel's, left wrist. "handcuffs!" Helping Sirius to his feet, he began walking, Sirius right beside him. Angel's heart raced with excitement.

"Exit portal here we come!"

**Much Later****  
**  
Nothing, for hours he felt nothing, no pull of the wolf. Maybe they were walking in circles, never coming any closer, lost forever in the darkness. Sirius was no help. He pulled against Angel, always wanting to walk in the opposite direction. Depression began to set in again, Angel was exhausted. If he didn't feel the pull soon…..

"Yaaaaaaawwwwn.." Angel found himself sitting on the ground, Sirius sitting beside him, not remembering getting there, Angel needed to rest…rest for a very long time. He closed his eyes and thought of Liam….he would stay here and dream….

And then he remembered. Sitting up straight and reaching into his jacket pocket, he took it out, the vial Liam had stowed there….Angel kissed it. "Thank you Liam!" This was exactly what he needed. Angel couldn't find the wolves, but Shadow could. Liam had nicked a bit of the werewolf transformation potion.

_Liam didn't quite trust that the Order knew what they were doing. He wanted to make sure that Angel could get out and he didn't quite trust that Angel could find his way out. But he was sure that Shadow could. _

Angel needed to get Sirius out as well, and he knew just how to do it.

First, he needed a way to tether Sirius to Shadow. The tee would no longer work, as Shadow would have no wrist to tether Sirius to.

"So sorry I have to do this Sirius, but I can't think of any other way."

Angel untied the tee from his own wrist, took off Sirius' jacket and began cutting it into strips. Twisting the strips together, he now had something strong enough, And there was just enough material to do what he needed to do. He tied one end of the leather cord around Sirius' wrist. He then created a slip knot in the other end and wrapped it like a noose around him, he put his left arm through the loop, but not the right arm. The loop rested on his right collarbone. Once the knot tightened, he would be able to lead Sirius, but not be choked.

He reached over and grabbed Sirius' left hand. Looking into Sirius' eyes and biting his bottom lip, he took the ring off his own finger, he forced it onto Sirius' index finger. The ring was way too tight and Angel had drawn blood, but it would not fall off, and Sirius could not easily remove it. "Sorry Siri," he whispered.

Angel then undressed.

Everything in place, he moved as far as possible from Sirius, opened the vial, put it to his lips and drank……..

Pain…..that familiar pain.. Again his body was shifting, adjusting, becoming the wolf, but this time with his full permission. He was calling the wolf, not trying to keep it inside. He was able to center himself, stay in control of his mind, even during the process of transformation….and then it was over. He pulled against the leather cord and it tightened.

Sirius ran his fingers through Shadow's fur, laughing, tears running from his eyes.

And then Shadow felt it…..the draw…that familiar draw…..it was a wolf, but not just any wolf. It was Moony! Shadow raised his head and howled, the howl echoing, bouncing through the emptiness. He pulled Sirius along as fast as he could, Sirius laughing as he went, an excited, almost mad laughter.

And then, unexpectedly, even though Moony continued to draw him, Shadow felt another creature…..Liam…Liam was near. He also sensed another, quieter voice. All three were drawing him in the same direction, calling him, beckoning him forwards. He had to be close!

Suddenly he was pulled, jerked, sucked forward, Sirius beside him. The blackness turned to grey and then bright light, blinding light that was searing through the back of his eyes, the pain was intense.

The light diminished, he felt someone scratching behind his right ear. He opened his eyes to see Dumbledore. "Well done Angel, well done. Welcome back. You will notice that we are in one of your favorite haunts, the closet of the trophy room." He smiled eyes twinkling, "It is fortunate that I accidentally brought too much of the antidote with me. There is a sufficient amount for both you and Remus. Here, take your potion. There is someone who has been waiting….um…shall we say, not so patiently for your return. I don't think we should keep him waiting, do you?" He opened the vial and emptied the liquid onto Shadow's tongue.

Walking past Liam, he winked, "Liam, I advise you to wait just a few more minutes. Until Angel is quite himself." Dumbledore then want to tend to Sirius.

Moony stood back, far away from Sirius. He was still Moony after all and Sirius had just come of the void. He couldn't get any closer. He needed to center, breathe in, keep control.

He could see Dumbledore joking with Siri.

"Center…center, concentrate Remus," he thought to himself. . But Siri was glowing….glowing red and the scent that was Siri was powerfull "Center Remus, center…"

Sirius looked confused, unable to fathom what had just happened and where he was. "Well, Sirius. You are a site, but really none the worse for wear. It seems you will be all right. We need….."

Moony looked over to see Angel sitting on the floor, Liam's arm around him, feeding him a chocolate frog.

Tired of waiting for Dumbledore to give him the antidote, Moony began to walk slowly towards Siri. Just to welcome him back. Suddenly Moony could see nothing but red and Siri's scent overpowered him, his was well aware of what he was doing, but he no longer cared. A few moments later he heard a voice echoing in the distance and something pulling him backwards.

"Remus!" The voice was coming closer. "Remus, come on……back away!" It was Dumbledore. He was pulling Moony away from Sirius, who had been again knocked to the ground. "Remus…. BACK away," Dumbledore's eyes were now twinkling, knowing full well that Sirius was fine. In fact, Sirius and Moony were wrestling. Sirius remembered Moony immediately and was not worried about the fact that he had no idea where he was or what was happening. Sirius playfully batted Moony away, laughing, knowing well how to play with Moony as Sirius, not Padfoot.

"Professor Dumbledore, that's Moony, not Remus," corrected Liam. But Dumbledore knew better. Moony had not yet transformed back into Lupin, and even though the wolf was still upon Lupin, Dumbledore knew this was not just the wolf. This was Remus coming through, the true Remus, not held back. The Remus who Sirius knew.

Finally separated, the antidote potion given, the lovers sat in each other's arms.

Ginny walked from behind, and up to Angel, who was sitting on the floor. Liam stood up and went to greet Sirius. "The third, gentler call," thought Angel. Ginny kneeled in front of him, eyes wet, and kissed him on the forehead, draping the red quidditch cape with the gold braid around him. Covering him. "You are a greater hero than anyone who has a trophy in the cases. My hero." She then beamed, "You brought him back. No one could do that. You did it. My Angel…….." She stopped and looked a bit puzzled, but then her face cleared.

"Sirius came back…

..on Angel's Wings."


	17. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

The next few weeks passed quickly. Sirius and Angel had both settled in well. The curtains at Grimmauld Place were drawn back and the sunlight shone in. Although there were visitors; Angel, Liam, Lupin and Sirius were always happy to have the house to themselves.

Lupin continued his walks with Angel and Sirius began spending time with Angel as well; giving advice on relationships and life. Sirius and Lupin were the closest thing to a father he had ever had.

Sirius filled him in on the Black family; their ancestry, their attitudes and the magic that was ingrained into them, the dark magic. Sirius would often go silent as he talked about them.

During one session they discussed the ring. All the Blacks had rings, Bellatrix and Narcissa still wearing theirs. They became aware that the ring had changed hands when Angel began wearing it; they knew something was up. It seemed that Narcissa had found out the plan. As Angel entered the void, the signal changed, distorted, letting them know he had stepped inside.

**Lovers Reunited**

It was midnight the first day of the third week. Angel and Liam were fast asleep in their room at the end of the hall, Sirius and Lupin were in their own room at the top of the steps. 

'Hurgmerm…Huh…whazaa…hmm." Lupin was not quite awake yet. "Whaaaa..?" Again he felt a slight twinge in his stomach. He turned over, face down and pulled the pillow over his head, trying to get back to sleep. He had almost dozed off again, when he felt a slight poke in his back. He had had enough. He turned around and sat up, eyes barely open. "Sirius….yaaaawwwn…quit."

Sirius looked dejected. He wined "Checking."

Lupin was perturbed. He sighed, "Siri, I am here…OK?…I am not in your imagination….I am here. Just quit poking me."

Sirius stared at him, looking hurt.

Shaking his head slightly, Lupin said, "OK, come on….but it is only a few days till full moon and I am already exhausted. I need to sleep." He moved over and embraced Sirius. Soon they were fast asleep in each other's arms.

"Umm?….Whaaa….Hell!" Lupin was awake again. He felt a few kisses on his neck and then someone licking his ear, his skin also tickled by strands of hair falling on it. Lupin looked up. Puppy dog eyes were sparkling, speaking to him. He rolled his eyes, putting on his best stern voice, trying hard not to laugh. "Sirius Black. If you EVER complain again about what a little shit Angel is , I'm gonna bean you…"

**Full Moon**

It was night of full moon.

Liam stood; back to the trio, absently folding and refolding their clothes. He was uncharacteristically silent. Angel could sense Liam's hurt, but was at a loss for the reason. He walked up from behind Liam, put his arms around him and kissed his neck under his ear. "Liam? What's bothering you?"

"Nothing," Liam turned around and looked at Angel with a forced smile. "I am fine."

Not to be deflected, Angel raised one eyebrow and stared at him.

"I was just, well…I was just wishing," Liam looked down at the floor. "…wishing that I could go with you…Sirius can. I was just wishing that…"

"Wishing that you were an animagus?" asked Angel.

Still looking at the floor, Liam nodded.

Angel smiled teasingly, "But what good would it be if you turned out to be a frog or a crawly thing?"

Sirius chortled, "Angel, why don't you go and stand on the blanket with Remus? Go on." He then walked up and put his hand on Liam's shoulder. "You know Liam, you are part of the romp, even if you can't join in the play. Angel knows you are there, with him." Then looking seriously into Liam's eyes. "But, if you are really serious about becoming an animagus….well, we'll see."

**The Romp**

Liam sat on the stoop, curled up, arms wrapped around his legs, his chin resting on his knees. He gazed out across the moonlit lawn, watching his friends and lover at play. His heart gently aching; he so longed to be with them. Sighing deeply, his eyes damp, he thought about what Sirius had said…"We'll see." This lifted his mood slightly and he faintly smiled, content to stay here with Angel, stay here forever; just the four of them, Sirius, Lupin, Angel and him. No one else.

But things do change and time does not stand still. How could it? For Angel and Liam, two sixteen year old wizards, partners in mischief… 

…..the adventures had just begun.

The End...for now.


End file.
